The Misadventures of Fanty and Pitch Black
by Fantasydreamer244
Summary: Pitch wasn't in good shape, but he was recovering. Slightly. But what massive messes will unfold when he meets a quirky teenager who was able to ensnare him in a trap? And what kind of name is Fanty anyways? Rated T for language and a tiny bit of suggestive themes, nuthin too bad. Guaranteed to at least make you chuckle. ;)
1. Prologue

**Ta-daaa! Welcome, one and all, to our funny (hopefully) story starring yours truly and-!**

**Pitch: I really don't want you to tell them how we met.**

**Don't worry, Pitch. This is a bit of a stretch, but most of it is quite true. At least on my part.**

**Pitch: ...**

**Shut up.**

**Anyway! I would also like to give a heartwarming shout-out to my dearest friends who will be joining me in our little adventure as well! Thank you Mystichawk, Xion5, dragoscilvio, Starskulls, and Lil Angel 927! Hallo! Now, without further ado, we shall begin our story! Please leave a review for all times sake. It does me good to see people enjoying my work. :) Have a great day!**

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This is the story of how I saved the world. Don't worry, this is gonna be a good story and in fact, I don't save the world at all. This whole story all started with...a booby trap.

My name is Fanty! Nice to meet you. I used to live in the city, but a while ago I moved to Burgess upon the demand of my friends. The town is really friendly! The only problem I see with it is that the kids here are ballistic. Okay, I'll say that a bit nicer….different? All the kids in Burgess talk about these people called the Guardians, and the leader of these kids is some boy named Jamie Bennett. I slightly knew Jamie, because Angel babysits him and his sister, Sophie. Sometimes those little buggers would come over to her apartment for baking and watching movies 24/7. Honestly, Jamie is probably one of the well respected kids I've ever met! His stories really put faith in everyone, and it's something I admire.

Ever since Jamie shared his stories of this dude named Jack Frost and the Guardians to my friends and I, we became determined to see if this was all real. My friends and I all live in the same apartment building, and honestly, I bet the landlord regrets ever going into the apartment business. We're a rowdy bunch! Well, besides Drago. She's a real sweetheart that keeps herself under control, which is something I totally admire. Trust me, I'd love to be like her, but with my energy and the quirks to being Fanty, it isn't possible.

Allow me to introduce my lifestyle. I live in Apartment 4B, right across from Xion, under Mystic and above Star. My apartment isn't really...um "sparkling clean." I mean, it is, its just not….uh. Shut up, I haven't gotten to washing my dishes or cleaning the bathroom yet, okay?! I work at Building Block Day Care...yeah, doesn't sound like a promising job, does it? Don't worry. I'm just waiting for a job to open up somewhere else in Burgess. I wanna go into the graphic design business, but Burgess kind of has a lack of that. But thanks to Angel's knowledge of kids, I'm favorited there! My boss is really nice and always makes sure her employees gets a paid vacation at least once a year, which is awesome. My guess is that she thinks the kids have supernatural powers to watch her 24/7, so she acts all pleasant and talk to us like children just in case. But that's just a crazy thought. I love the kids, I just don't like the little treasures they leave for me as gifts in their diapers.

Being Fanty has its perks and downsides, though. When Xion, Mystic, Drago, Star and Angel come over and we have our biweekly hangouts and someone brings the soda, I go all over the place. Hyperactive energy is my middle name. I'm an artist, and I put that art to good use! I make a little money off of my art, which is very nice.

...Oh, and if you ever hear of Star talking about my "graffiti incident", that never happened…

Gah! I'm getting distracted from the story! This isn't the point I'm trying to make! Sorry, you're dealing with someone who easily gets distracted. You're lucky a moth hasn't flown by, or else I would've gotten onto a high speed rant about moths instead of this story I wanted to tell.

Well! You're probably wondering, 'What's the importance of telling us about Jamie Bennett and the kids and their stories of weird Guardians?' Well, that's exactly why you're here.

One day, Angel brought Jamie and Sophie over to my apartment because her apartment was too cluttered for kids. Luckily, that was the day my boss sent home a bunch of toys from the daycare to be cleaned. Sophie immediately took a liking to the giant set of mushy building blocks, especially squashing them between her hands. Jamie happily sat on my couch and watched Spongebob Squarepants as Angel and I talked in the kitchen about her work and how her week has been going.

"Honestly, it's been a little strange." Angel shook her head, folding her arms over her chest.

"You always say that when you babysit the Bennetts." I said, stuffing another sugar cookie in my mouth. Angel slapped my hand away when I reached for the jar again, and I mewled at the stinging pain.

"I'm serious! Jamie said he saw Pitch Black near his house when he and his mom were coming back from his uncle's birthday party. What do you think of that?"

"Cosplay." I grinned, wiping my lower lip.

"Fanty! I'm serious! Someone's lurking in Burgess, and Jamie's not the only one getting fidgety." Angel sat down and stared at me seriously.

I thought for a moment, trying to recollect whatever could possibly relate to this. Finally, I snapped my fingers and pointed to her. "You know Jamie's friend Pippa, right?"

"Yeah. She came over to play one time while I was babysitting, along with some kid named Monty." Angel broke a cookie in half and took a bite.

"Pippa and her mother came over to the daycare once to drop off some donations, and Pippa told me about this shady guy she saw in her friend's closet when she was over at some sleepover. I think they stayed up watching High School Musical for too long," I shuddered, "Yick...Zac Efron and Sharpay gives me the willies."

"Fanty."

"Don't worry, buddy!" I patted her hand, smiling brightly, "I have an idea to see if this is all true."

I stood up and did a somersault over to Sophie, who squealed and giggled at my silliness. I ended up sitting on my bottom, right in front of her. I grinned, liking Sophie's bountiful happiness. She handed me a blue block, and I gratefully took it and placed it on her head.

"Fanty, no! Tip top!" Sophie giggled, standing up and waddling over to me for a hug.

I smiled as I hugged her, and started to laugh as she put the soft blue block on my head as well. I shook my head like a dog, and then turned to Jamie. He boredly turned the TV off and turned towards me with a shy smile.

"So! Angel told me you saw some fella named Pitch Black." I said, balancing Sophie on my leg in a side hug.

Jamie perked up at that name, and then crawled over to me as if he were to tell a secret to me. I heard Angel come over and sit next to me, taking Sophie's fairy wings near her discarded sneakers and flapping them playfully near her. She giggled and turned her back with her arms out, and Angel slipped the wings on. One of the wings fwapped me on the cheek, and I spluttered at the contact, making Jamie snicker.

"Yeah! He's the Boogeyman. Why do you wanna know about him?" Jamie crossed his legs in an Indian position as he sat on the couch, staring down at us girls.

"I was thinking we'd have a little bit of a joke on him." I grinned at Jamie, whose eyes widened with astonishment at the idea.

"Are you kidding!? Jamie exclaimed, a wild smile growing across his face, "That would be hilarious!" but then his face fell, pondering about something that made me slightly worried. "He may get angry, though."

"So what?! I can take him!" I grinned, and held up my fists in a fighting stance.

Angel rolled her eyes with a grin as I punched at the air, and Sophie made a grab for my hands, trying to stop my quick motion. She got up and ran over to the tower, making sure I wouldn't knock it over. I grinned and put my arms down, glad Jamie got my point.

"Jamie, tell Fanty what he looks like." Angel said, tucking her legs underneath her.

Jamie got on his knees and held up his hands to a good measurable length. "His hands are kind of big, like a man's, but his fingers are skinny and kind of long. His skin is grey, and he wears a black robe thing."

"Wow. What a fashionista." I snickered, already finding this description hilarious.

"He's got black hair that goes up in the air like this," he made a wave like motion up in the air and then continued, "he's got goldish-silver eyes and he's super tall. He runs really fast, and he appears by shadows and such."

"So what time do you expect we take action?" I looked at Angel in case she had any ideas.

"I think midnight would be cool. Like in those stories!" Jamie grinned eagerly.

"Cool beans," I grinned in response, then became serious, "Okay! Here's the plan!"

I whipped out a large piece of paper that looked like a scroll, and a stick of charcoal. Angel gave me a look of confusion and asked, "Where the heck did you get those that quick?"

"I keep stashes of paper and some sort of writing tool around this place in case I come up with ideas if I'm not near the computer or I don't have my sketchbook with me," I said, drawing the layout of my apartment floor plan. I suddenly snapped my fingers, gaining everyone's attention, "That reminds me! I need to restock the paper under the coffee machine and above the microwave. Most of my ideas come from food."

"That I know." Angel laughed, and Jamie and Sophie joined in unison.

"Alright! Listen up, cadets!" I said like an army sarge.

"Cadets! Cadets!" Sophie clapped her hands, liking that word.

I drew a dot right in the room where I slept in, and then outlined a rectangular shape around it. "This is where I sleep, and here," I drew another box on the far left of the room, "Is my closet. Most likely, he'll come out of there. There's too many boxes of art supplies under my bed for him to fit in. What we're gonna do is set up a device-"

"Like a booby trap?" Jamie asked, looking up at me for approval.

"Exactly. The floor will be covered with netting, but only the area around the closet will be triggered. Once he steps into this area," I circled the spot near the closet, and looked up at them, smiling, "he'll be ours!"

"Yay!" Jamie cheered, and Sophie clapped happily.

"I think the best person to set that up for you is Mystic," Angel turned towards me, a grin on her face, "she's got knowledge of snares and traps like Katniss Everdeen herself!"

"Who's Katniss Everdeen?" Jamie asked, tilting his head to the side.

"A character from a book and movie. You're too young to watch or read that stuff." Angel waved her hand, as if to cast that question away.

Jamie stuck out his lower lip, but then leaned forward to get a better look at the battle map I created. "What if that one fails?"

"Mystic taught me how to set up a booby trap of a water bucket on the door, so I'll easily set that up. Angel! Call Mystic. We might as well need her now. Do you have netting?" I turned towards my good friend, who whipped out her phone and started punching in her number.

"No, but she does. She's got half a closet full of them. Trust me, I checked." Angel held up her phone to her ear as it started ringing.

"Good!" I evilly rubbed my hands together, cackling maniacally.

Sophie looked at her own hands, and then mine, and started rubbing them together as if she were washing her hands. She giggled at her intimidation of me, and I smiled down at her attempt to look evil.

"Hey! Don't go teaching my sister that sort of evil stuff!" Jamie demanded, playfully wacking me on the forehead.

"Jamie! No hitting!" Angel snapped.

"WASSAHP LIL GAL!?" Mystic's voice sounded at the end of the phone.

That sent Sophie, Jamie and I into hysterics. Angel tried shushing us, but it did no good.

"Mystic? Yeah, we need your help." Angel said, trying to suppress a smile.

I grabbed the phone from her hand and whispered, "It's Operation Booby Trap!"


	2. Misjudging the Victim

**Just a quick little reply to some reviews, here. To DeadLuck666, mueheheeh..."in-store." You're cute. ;3 Thank you for the brilliant idea. To Scarletruby2002, you can count on it! :D To Starskulls, *gobbles up cupcake gratefully* Thanks! I'm glad to be back! To iamCAMBRIA, I just knew someone would laugh at the word booby. ;)**

**Now this is an interesting question asked by a guest by the name of Jenny.A Guest. I would like to respond to her question just real quickly. If you're not that interested in reading all this bold stuff, go ahead and read the story, but to Jenny.A Guest, this is a very good question! I completely understand the challenge of making Pitch Black a humorous kind of character, and in a way, he can be. I think in this story, there will be only one moment that will-as you say- "pull at the hearts" of my readers. ****Me? Evil? I'm not evil! I'm just saucy. *wink wink***

**Pitch: Saucy, sassy, feisty, slightly rude, and definitely evil when you write.**

**That sounds pretty accurate. Oh, and don't forget stubborn.**

**Pitch: Yes, how could I forget?**

**Here it is, chapter one! Please enjoy. :) I'll try to keep this AN at a minimum, alright? Have fun!**

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Fanty lay in her bed, her legs crossed and happily snug under the blankets. It was springtime in Burgess, and the nights were still a little chilly. During the fall, winter and spring seasons, Fanty was always grateful for this fluffy blanket Drago got for her a year ago. It had many pictures of chocolate candies, and fancy script in red letters dotted areas of the blanket with sayings like 'Love Chocolate, Die Chocolate' and 'I remember when they first invented chocolate' and 'Don't steal!'

Fanty typed up the last chapter of her latest fanfiction and closed off , her duty done once more. She went onto the chat room she, Xion, Star, Mystic, Drago and Angel shared and typed a quick hello.

_Fantasydreamer244: Wuuuuuusup._

Fanty waited for a while, when suddenly a ring sounded. She eagerly leaned forward. It was Star!

_Starskulls: Fanty, it's almost eleven at night. Go to bed!_

Fanty frowned, and then typed up her response.

_Fantasydreamer244: Hey, the same goes to you!_

_Starskulls: Touche, my friend. Touche._

_Fantasydreamer244: What's your plan for the upcoming Buffet Sunday?_

_Starskulls: Take a guess. ;)_

Fanty grinned, knowing immediately what the answer was. "Mmm...cupcakes." she literally got hungry just thinking about her excellent dessert making skills! Once she and Star said their goodbye, Fanty closed her laptop and placed it on her end table, right next to her sketchbook. She then laid there, thinking on the subject of the trick she's about to pull. As she stared at the ceiling, her mind reeled about what was to happen if the booby trap was set off and whatnot. What if it gets triggered but Pitch just morphs through it? According to Jamie, he's a spirit. Wouldn't spirits do that? Mystic also warned that the trap may backfire. Who knows, maybe Fanty would forget about it in the morning and get the surprise herself.

But then there were the other terms. What if Pitch Black did in fact come? How would she react?

...most likely fangirl. Yep. Fangirl.

Or she could possibly scream bloody murder and try whacking him with her pillow and mistake him for a creep.

Those thoughts led Fanty's eyelids to slowly droop shut, one last sigh escaping her throat as she snuggled into the pillows. She quickly scratched her nose before falling into a light sleep, her heartbeat slowing to a steady rate.

Without her knowledge, the room seemed to grow darker. The window she left open, with the pale green curtains fluttering in the soft breeze, seemed to open just a tad bit more. Out of the open cracks danced in golden sand, swirling in the wind and elegantly making its way to Fanty. She turned over in her sleep and dug deeper into the blankets, feeling the chilly breeze on her back. The sand danced over to hover above Fanty's head, and then made a circle, fluttering there for just a minute. Then, the sand formed into her very own dream. This sand was special, for it was called 'dreamsand'. Fanty did not know what it was, nor did she notice the sand above her, so she could not tell what was hovering above her head like a UFO. The sand slowly morphed into the form of her, and there, the magical sand gave her dream for the night. The little sand image of her giggled, made a silly face, and began dancing around the little space she hovered on to some music that could not be heard. Fanty softly smiled in her sleep, liking the warmth her bed was radiating and what her dream was about.

Now, this magical dreamsand wasn't just acting by itself alone. There was a man behind it all, and he happened to be Sandman himself. He floated on his golden sand cloud above Burgess, sending dreams to all the children in the little town. He smiled as each person welcomed their dreams, and unknowingly cast Fanty's in her direction, unaware of what was to happen next. He was a stout little man, with a bright smile and happy, golden eyes. He donned his signature, golden outfit and had his yellow hair spiked straight up into the sky, like the rays of the sun. Never before has Sandy failed in sending a dream, for he always won the fight against anti-sleep children. Little did he know that there was to be a great change in the town of Burgess...and it may or may not be hectic, annoying, and slightly...disruptive.

Not only was Sandy on his daily rounds, but so was Pitch Black, the Nightmare King. We could go monologuing on and on about his defeat, his immense hatred for the Guardians, blah blah blah, you get the picture. But the most important thing is that Pitch is quite often careful, skilled, a tactical kind of man. Each nightmare is conjured with careful precision mixed with a hint of no mercy, but when he was truly desperate, he was reckless and his yearning for fear was unleashed. Like now, for example. Because he was literally sucked dry of fear by his own army of nightmares after a week of war, he wasn't careful as he treaded into each child's room. He would lunge at the dreamsand and watch in contempt and hunger as it turned into a nightmare, savoring the delicious taste of fear as it bounced off a child. Fanty was nothing but another target, another source for power and survival.

Yet he was the one that would be outmatched.

As he licked his lips and stepped out of Fanty's closet into the open bedroom, hoping to destroy her dream and take in more fear, something tight wrapped around his ankles. He froze and looked down at his feet, realizing his utter mistake.

"SON OF HADES, WHAT THE HELL!?" he shouted as the netting wrapped around his body, the rope pulling him upside down tightly so he couldn't escape.

That instantly woke Fanty up. She sprang out of bed, her hands in tight fists and her wide, brown eyes scanning the room for the loud disturbance. "Who's there?! I got a gun!" she scrambled to her desk and opened the bottom drawer, taking out a Nerf gun that looked a lot like a rifle with a plastic yellow magazine at the bottom. She aimed it at the trap, watching whoever was in it struggle and yell in fury.

Realizing what she caught, Fanty whooped and raised the gun in the air in victory, leaping onto the bed and jumping up and down in excitement. "I got him! I got the Boogeyman! I can't believe it!"

"GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW!" Pitch screamed, feeling the bindings around him tighten the more he struggled. He slowed down, for his muscles were giving up on him in his time of desperate escape. He has been weak for far too long.

"Not until you tell me who you are first!" Fanty demanded, aiming the Nerf gun at his stomach as the net swayed back and forth from Pitch's thrashing.

"You already know who I am! You just screamed it to the entire world!" Pitch snapped, glaring at her in pure hate.

Fanty grinned, and raised the gun up towards the ceiling covered in glow-in-the-dark stars. "I know. I just want you to say it. I had this whole thing planned out and I want it like how I imagined it."

"YOU planned this?!" Pitch screamed, staring at her in horror.

Fanty nodded excitedly, stopped, then shook her head. "My friend helped me set up the trap. It was the Ben-uh, certain children-that told me you've been seen a lot around here. So I came up with the idea and decided to take you as my hostage until I say so."

Pitch sighed, already feeling a headache coming on strong. "As if Man in Moon hated me enough...now this."

"Tell you what, Mr. Booger-"

"Boogeyman!" Pitch snapped again, and then mumbled, "pubescent witch."

"OI!" She hit his net-covered back with her Nerf gun, "No name calling or I'll leave you there for decoration!" she cleared her throat, stepping down from her bed, "As I was saying, I'll let you go-"

"Thank the stars." Pitch mumbled.

"IF!" Fanty held up a finger, "I still own you as a hostage, and you have to leave the Bennett kids alone."

Pitch stopped to think and stare at her as if she were a madwoman. She certainly looked mad, especially with the toy gun and wearing Avengers PJs. It's as if she didn't grow up at all. Wow, that really convinced him to stay with her. Note the sarcasm. But there was a consideration on his part. Every time he would return to the lair, he would be the one injected with fear, since the fearlings and nightmares all still prey on him while he's weak. Why go back and face more torment when he could be here in her care? Wait a minute, think rationally, Pitch. _Her_ care?

"I can make a really good apple pie." Fanty sang teasingly, thinking that would change his point of view.

"I don't eat." Pitch said coolly, not blinking.

"I have horror movies, if that makes you more at home." she wagged her eyebrows, knowing he'll say yes.

"Ooh, how intriguing! Nothing like a predictable psychopath chasing teenage girls with a kitchen knife. I vote no." Pitch tried folding his arms, but his wrist was stuck in the netting like a bind.

"Okay, okay...I understand if you don't wanna stay...I'm pretty boring anyway…" Fanty's lower lip quivered, her eyes becoming sad.

Pitch blinked. _Wait...she wants me to stay? _No one has ever asked Pitch to stay, the thought was too ludicrous for anyone, even the bravest person alive. No one liked nightmares, or even the mention of the Boogeyman. Pitch found himself considering to accept the offer, but he shook his head, trying to regain his thoughts.

_This bitch better be insane._

Fanty sniffed, and wiped at her eyes, her lower lip still quivering. Pitch scoffed, "Are you crying?"

"N-no. I...I just don't want you to go. I'm so lonely...I'm always cast out, forgotten...it's not as if you would know that feeling." Fanty dropped her gun to the floor and covered her face with her hands, shaking with controlled sobs.

"I...um…" Pitch was getting a tightness in his chest, something he hasn't felt in quite some time. _Am I seriously pitying her?! This is ridiculous! I am the Boogeyman, unfeeling, and-!_

Fanty let out a wail, her cheeks pink and her eyes starting to water up.

"Hey, quiet down. People will hear you!" Pitch tried commanding, but to no avail.

"Aauuuughh!" Fanty cried.

"Tone it down a bit!...Please? Oh come on, for crying out loud. Please stop crying. It's a rather terrifying sound." Pitch winced as Fanty's pitch rose higher.

She fell to her knees, crying into her hands and mumbling incoherent words.

Was he seriously going to bend to this level? She was nothing to him, just another meager life not worth caring about. He had better things to do...did he? But the more he saw her on the ground in tears, he came to a careful consideration. If he stayed with her, he would be out of the fearlings' way until he was strong enough to control them again, and maybe, if he was extremely lucky, Fanty could help him get the fear he desperately needed.

Without backtracking or a second thought, he caved in.

"Alright, alright! I'll stay for a year, okay?! One! Now, just shut up!" Pitch was close to whining, the crying of Fanty clearly bothering him to the bone.

Fanty shot upright, an excited grin on her face. "Great!"

Pitch's mouth fell. That was all an act?!

_Wow. She's really good._

"Yeah, yeah, just get me down from here now. You can go back to bed and I'll just, I dunno, watch you or something." Pitch pulled at the netting, but to no avail.

"Yeah, totally! Just don't move." Fanty said, raising the Nerf gun up and squinting one eye.

Pitch's eyes widened. _What….the hell._

"What are you doing?" he asked. Was that fear that edged his voice?

"Mystic said to shoot at the base in order to release the trap, so hold still." Fanty said, still concentrating on her target.

"WHAT?! NO! I DON'T TRUST YOU WITH A GUN!" Pitch yelled, swinging the trap back and forth.

Fanty fired, the foam bullet hitting him right in the buttocks.

"OW!" Pitch screamed, thrashing in the trap even more.

"Hold still! I almost got it!" Fanty grinned, knowing she was going to nail the target.

"Are you insane?! Stop shooting at me-OW!" another foam bullet hit him right in the side.

"Stop thrashing!" Fanty snapped, shooting three more bullets.

All three hit him right in the chest.

"OH GODS THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR CREATING A WAR!" Pitch wailed, covering his face with his hands for protection.

Suddenly, a loud click sounded from above, very close to the ceiling. Pitch stopped thrashing, stunned at the sound. Just as he muttered an 'uh oh', he fell to the ground, netting and all.

Fanty stood there, frozen. She did it! But was the Boogeyman okay? He kept on groaning and muttering words in a different language. Fanty placed the gun on her bed and watched him as he started to get up. First on his knees, and then slowly rising up like in those dramatic movies Fanty was so fond of. Her heart stopped at how tall he was.

_Holy crap...I hope he doesn't kill me._

Six feet really was intimidating against a five foot two girl.

Pitch yanked the rest of the netting off with a snarl and glared at her, pure anger in his golden eyes. Fanty blinked, shocked into silence. If she could, she'd be on the floor begging for forgiveness. This dude, this six foot one tall guy who apparently has the power to give fear and destroy dreams, was pissed off at her.

Then again, she couldn't help but just _stare_ at him. This so called Nightmare king, was legitimately a spirit. All her childhood fears of the Boogeyman she had in the past were real. She was staring right at it, towering above her! As a child, she imagined the Boogeyman as a zombie football player, or at least a hulking mass of a goblin-like creature wearing a helmet. She didn't know why she thought the Boogeyman looked like that, she just did.

She liked this version better. Pitch Black looked like the son of Hades and Eris, except doubly attractive with double the power.

"Erm…hi." Fanty stammered, taking a step back.

"Now you fear me?" Pitch rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his lean chest.

"Well, I didn't know how tall you were since you were scrunched up in that trap. Um...yeah." Fanty rubbed the back of her neck, feeling extremely small and awkward.

"Height shouldn't only be the thing making you feel stupid. This should as well," Pitch sneered, and with one flick of his wrist in her direction, a cloud of black sand sprayed her face, causing her to cough and splutter at the horrid taste and the sand creeping into her eyes.

"Hey-!" she exclaimed, but before she could say anything else, she fell asleep, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap.

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**TURN DOWN FOR WHAT?!**

**Pitch: Don't do that. Ever.**

**Yeah, Vines overplay it too much. Still, it's funny! Alrighty then, see you all in the next chapter! :D**


	3. Let's Start Over

**Hello, its your gurl, Fanty! Thank you for clicking that little button at the bottom of the page to continue reading this story, it really does mean a lot. :) Please enjoy this chapter, and I'll post the following one as soon as I can! Have a great day, my lovelies!**

**Pitch: Is this the chapter where we eat popcorn and watch their reactions?**

**Not yet. Muehehheheh...**

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Fanty woke up with a fright, breathing heavily. _Yikes…never again capture the Boogeyman._ Fanty thought, rubbing her eyes awake. She had a horrible nightmare of a clown with a dagger chasing her down a really long hallway, and she wasn't moving from her spot. The more she ran, the slower she got. The clown laughed like a hyena, which really creeped her out.

_I hate clowns. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them._ Fanty nibbled on her lip, blinking away the extra sleep sand that lay in her eyes.

Speaking of Boogeyman, where was he? Fanty looked around her, noticing that she was back under the comfortable blankets of her bed, the Nerf gun lay where it once was, under the bed she slept on. The trap was still unraveled on the floor, a few rips in it that Fanty knew she had to fix before giving it back to Mystic. She looked around her room, the sunlight leaking in through the shades like flashes of memories, highlighting Fanty's innocence and interests that never faltered throughout her life that still littered her small bedroom.

Fanty pushed back the blankets and stumbled out of bed, still slightly groggy and currently wanting food, like a good bowl of her favorite cereal.

As she walked down the short hallway into the living room, she was met with the sight of the Boogeyman sitting at her round, white kitchen table, not tearing his gaze away from…

What was Star doing here?

Fanty yawned, not that entirely surprised that Star was there but startled that Pitch Black still was in her very own apartment. Pitch finally heard her slight yawn and look at her boredly, not really caring that she still existed.

"How was your sleep?" He asked with a smirk.

"Shut up." Fanty said, smacking her lips, "And clowns? Really? What am I, five?"

"You certainly dress like one." Star gestured to Fanty's sleepwear, causing Pitch to chuckle meanly.

"Hey, they're my Saturday pajamas!" Fanty pouted, sitting down at the table and grabbing the box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Star continued to sip at her coffee, which smelled a lot like vanilla and mocha cupcakes. _She must have been cooking again._ Fanty thought, crunching on a spoonful of cereal. _Hopefully I'll be able to mooch off a triple chocolate cupcake before she leaves for work._

"I came to check on you since there was a lot of commotion last night, but the Boogeyman here pretty much cleared it up." Star glanced at Pitch, who nodded curtly.

"You know each other?" Fanty looked between them, shocked that they seemed so familiar with each other yet distant at the same time.

"It's all his fault I had the worst Halloween parties," Star mumbled over the rim of her mug of coffee, "he crashed three of them."

"Two, technically. Besides, you and your friends should know better than to play Bloody Mary in a haunted house." Pitch sneered, his upper lip curling handsomely.

Now this, Fanty had to laugh at. She felt somewhat relieved that she wasn't the only one that believed in the Boogeyman, but mostly happy that no one thought she was insane. Besides, Bloody Mary in a haunted house? _I wish I was there to play that!_ Fanty thought as she finished her giggles.

"Anyways, giggle-face," Star winked teasingly, "Drago and I are going out of town to visit her parents. Apparently they're throwing a family reunion and I'm invited. Are you gonna be okay taking care of yourself?"

Fanty nodded, "Yes, Mommy."

"Excellent!" Star smiled brightly, finishing the last drops of her delicious coffee, "Then I'll see you in about three days! Oh, and Pitch…"

The two shared a look at each other, clearly thinking of the other as if they were the superior. It made Fanty want to laugh again. Just when Pitch was about to open his smart mouth, Star cut in, "Play nicely."

"Understood." Pitch stiffly nodded, looking at Fanty's slightly unhealthy choice of breakfast.

Once Star was out the door, leaving a single chocolate cupcake on Fanty's kitchen table as a good-bye treat, Pitch turned to Fanty boredly. He had been thinking over and over as she slept that night, why did it all come to this? Why just jump at the moment she put her meager deal out? Besides, even if she titled him as her hostage, even in a playful manner, he could still leave the premises at will. Nothing could stop him, not even a pubescent witch like herself.

He had to say, she definitely looked mature and acted a bit older after breakfast and getting changed. She changed from her Avengers PJs to comfortable jeans and a checkered top, wearing I-might-not-be-a-hippie sandals. She cleaned her room as well as the bathroom and the kitchen, letting Pitch just watch her do her everyday thing that she's been doing for the past couple of years. Cleaning her apartment was a routine she had to take part in, since she's quite the messy artist and person herself. As Pitch watched her throw out wrappers and empty bags of candy, a question popped into his head. It was a question he should have asked when they first met...if their first meeting went better.

He never really wanted to be seen...At least, not in this weak state.

"Is that your real name? Fanty?" He asked out of the blue, blinking slowly.

Fanty wiped her forehead with her arm and looked at him, surprised he finally spoke after fifteen minutes. Of all questions to ask, that was what was on his mind? She was slightly expecting him to ask her greatest fears or how she believed in him. She had to admit, she liked getting that question better than...her greatest fear.

"No. It's uh...a nickname. No one here knows my real name besides Xion and Mystic." Fanty sighed, looking around the floor of her apartment to see if she missed anything that needed to be picked up or thrown away.

"And this Xion and Mystic...they're your friends?" Pitch questioned, folding his arms and sitting on the back of the couch facing the television set and windows.

"Yep! They're the ones that pressured me to come here and stay. This town is cozy and very nice, so I really owe them for giving me a chance to fit in here-oops," Fanty covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock, "Uh, I mean...Not that….um."

Pitch felt something prick at his unbeating heart, but the quick feeling flitted away. Was that...a trace of pity? No. It couldn't be. Pitch is unfeeling, at least to a degree. He was commonly acquainted with fear, anger, glee, loneliness, and disappointment. But still, he noticed Fanty's slip. He could just see the memories fly across her brown eyes, like butterflies in the wind. Pitch sighed, shaking his head.

"It's alright, no need to elaborate. I get it. All teenagers go through that...at least, I think."

"How do you know?" Fanty smirked, taking a dishcloth from the kitchen counter and folding it up neatly.

"Hello? Boogeyman." Pitch sneered, flourishing a hand at his own self.

Fanty softly laughed, "Ah yes, fear extraordinaire and the donor of all nightmares. You're one expert in the field of teens."

Pitch furrowed his hairless brows, clearly not amused. "Hey, at least you're the first one I actually talked to for the past thousands of years. Star as well."

"We're all at least nineteen or eighteen here. Maybe you'll finally understand what it's like being a teenager in 2014." Fanty smiled reassuringly, finished with her cleaning.

"I hope not. I already see some of the crazy antics buffoons do, like smoking weed or gossiping or going shopping for pointless stuff. Hell, I've seen some stupid nightmares where they would be shopping and then they found something they really love but it was not in their size."

Fanty laughed, almost making Pitch smirk. He's never made someone laugh before...it felt kind of good. Granted, the feeling of knowing that he was the cause of someone's fear was pleasant, but the mere idea of him making someone else laugh seemed...like a fantasy. Fanty sighed happily, grinning at him in her usual friendly manner.

"Oh, you just haven't met the right ones. After all, there are some in this building. They happen to be my friends."

Pitch raised a brow, "In this small building? For a second I thought this place was a manor for one family.

Fanty smiled softly, "It used to be. The landlord said that the manor originally was owned by a wealthy family. Since they didn't have anyone to inherit it, they sold it to Mr. Joyce, and he turned first from a bed and breakfast to an apartment complex."

"Quite a history," Pitch watched Fanty nod happily, "Besides your immature decor in your bedroom, your place seems quite rustic."

It was true. Fanty didn't do much decorating of her very own besides her own bedroom. There was classic looking furniture like the couch with the throw cushions as well as the leather couches that sandwiched the narrow, mahogany bookshelf. Granted, the T.V and modern electronics and lamps were anachronistic against the dark wood floor and ornate rugs, even the wainscot walls that reminded Pitch of ribbon candy. The see-through white curtains gave the living room a desirable appearance, as if someone would want to relive the moments of the era this apartment lived through. The kitchen was just the same, minus the newly installed yellow tile that looked out of place. Pictures of Fanty's family, friends and certificates hung on the walls, even a random banner of some company called DreamWorks. Pitch didn't know why, but he felt like that DreamWorks banner was trying to grab his attention...probably because of the sudden sky blue against the cream wallpaper with thin red and thick green stripes.

Really, that DreamWorks banner was starting to bug him. It literally screamed 'I'M SO BLEU AND PURTY! Join usssss….'

"Thank you! What's your place like?" Fanty asked, genuinely curious.

Pitch grinned, looking at the floor in slight embarrassment. "Nothing you would want to see...it's quite dark."

"Well duh," Fanty smirked, "But I mean what does it look like? Where is it?"

"Are you planning to stalk me?" Pitch raised a teasing eyebrow at her, a smirk gracing his grey lips.

Fanty blushed, "Ha, no...And if I did, you'd invite me in."

"Granted. Well...before we discuss homes, we might as well start our greeting over. Our meeting last night was a little...informal, if I may say so." Pitch cast a glare at the netting that lay folded on the floor next to the coffee table.

"Ah, yeah...my bad," Fanty laughed nervously, "I tend to get very excited at times. Don't mind the random bouts of energy."

"I shall try to remember that." Pitch grinned, folding his arms over his flat yet strong chest.

"Well, um...my name is Fanty Dreamer." Fanty blushed brightly, holding her hand out for a handshake.

"The honor is mine. My name is Pitch Black, Nightmare King and Boogeyman extraordinaire." He bowed, taking her hand in his and kissing it lightly.

Fanty wasn't used to that unlike Pitch was. From Pitch's past and where he originally came from, that was the same gesture as a fist bump or a handshake, just for the opposite gender. Handshakes were only for men from his time period. Still, that doesn't mean he wasn't acquainted with the modern customs. He knew what Fanty's reaction would be.

She quickly retracted and rubbed her hand, feeling weak and embarrassed at her sudden rash act as well as just being treated like that. No one has ever done that…

"So you know Star and me now. You should meet my other friends! I'm sure Mystic would love to meet you. And Drago and-" Fanty went on, turning back towards the kitchen for a possible snack.

"What if they do not see me?" Pitch frowned, thinking Fanty a buffoon for not remembering that about spirits.

Fanty laughed, turning back towards him with a shiny red apple in her hands. "I'm sure they will! Heck, you'd probably be kissed if you manage to get into Mystic's. She's _really _into men like you."

Pitch smirked at the bold comment. Unnecessary, but amusing nonetheless. Then again, Fanty may be doing Pitch a favor. Although he still did not like the idea of sticking around for a full year with a crazy girl who had a Nerf gun under her bed, he might just as well see if Fanty was telling the truth. He'd be amazed if they could see him, since they were older than kids.

_And if she's saying this girl Mystic would find me attractive, that would be a plus. _A snarky voice grinned in his head. Pitch furrowed his brows and whispered, "Shut up."

_What? She's doing us a favor, Pitchy. When was the last time you, you know, baked cookies?_

"Goddammit." Pitch muttered as he face-palmed himself.

"Go ahead! Explore the place. In the meantime, Angel is going to be coming by to pick up some of the toys here for the day care I work at. I'll be here." Fanty smiled, turned back towards the kitchen and began opening up the fridge to see what she could make for lunch later that day.

_She acts like I'm her best friend, allowed to do whatever I please, _Pitch thought as he slowly slunked into a shadow, softly smiling to himself, _now that I like._

…Maybe he'll actually get used to this place if he really was open-minded enough. After all, he's been alone for so long, and this is the first time anyone has really seen him and did not scream for mommy. Pitch would immediately choose Fanty and her friends over the Guardians any day. So, in a sort of way, Pitch….

Was making friends.


	4. The Five Amigas

**I suck. I really am the Queen of Procrastination. I wanted to post this last Sunday, but then I had to do this comic book project for this art academy I'm attending. It's the honest truth, I swear!**

**Plus I was watching a lot of Sinbad: Legend of Seven Seas lately, especially Proteus...mmm, Proteus. ****Ahem, what?**

**Anyway, here's another chapter! :) Oh, and I'd like to respond to a couple of reviews. If you wanna skip that, go on, I'll catch up with ya. But those who care to read or wrote the review, here we go!**

**To Mystichawk's latest review: This is Pitch Black here. I would just like to inform you...you are all my bitches.**

**PITCH!**

**Pitch: Got to part, so long.**

**Crap, I'll get a lot of emails from my agent about that. Sorry Mystic! XD**

**And although this person didn't leave a review here but spoke to me in person, yes, I'm trying to make Pitch as realistic as I can. If he's a little OOC, its either on purpose or it's ON PURPOSE. Nuthin in between. Because we all know that deep inside that nasty, dark, evil, spiteful, cruel, seductive, manipulative, gooey, trickster-**

**Pitch: WE GET IT!**

**...being, there's a cute little boy wanting a good hug and a big smacker on the lips.**

**Pitch: No I don't.**

**We know you do, shut up.**

* * *

The room he appeared in happened to be a living room of a different person's, and in the distance he could hear the furious typing on a computer keyboard. The living room was simple, yet Pitch had an immediate drawing to it. Must be the black painted bookshelves. They held many thick books as well as encyclopedias that looked ancient, but more than just decoration. The floor was of dark wood, and a nice TV sat below a big window, shining light into the airy room. Pitch walked a bit towards the room with the typing sound, noticing many pictures hung up on walls as well as certificates and photos of movie characters. The walls in the entire flat were a rich purple, and he passed a small room used as a kitchen with a mini fridge and a small elegant table in the middle, with three, mahogany chairs. They looked quite comfortable.

"I like this person's taste in a home. Nice and cozy." Pitch mumbled to himself, ducking into another room with the same purple walls and wooden flooring. This room was obviously a bedroom, judging by the quilted bed in the corner of the room near the curtained window. There were multiple rugs of eggplant purple and dark brown, fuzzy beneath his feet. He looked up at the light fixture, feeling the fan turn slowly. He was surprised to see a poster up there of a man that looked almost like him, but in tight jeans and a white t-shirt, and looked soaked in water. Pitch made a face, feeling really strange at that familiar face, before turning to the person that sat in a black swivel chair at the wooden desk.

He nearly jumped back noticing the girl was staring right at him, unafraid.

This strange girl wore light blue jeans, a fitted t-shirt, and glasses. Her purple hair framed her face and almost reached her hips. The girl did not smile, just stared at him with mild interest. Pitch moved to the right, then slowly to the left, and once he noticed her eyes were following his movements, he felt both relieved and shocked.

"So another freak can see me." Pitch breathed, not looking away from her. _Let's see if she'll react like Fanty does._

The girl merely scoffed, looked him up and down, and said with a smirk on her face, "Please, go look in a mirror."

Pitch felt his non-existent eyebrows rise upwards. Now that was bold, even against a Boogeyman.

"Do you know who I am?" Pitch demanded, taking a step towards this new girl.

"Do you know who _I _am, Boogeyman?" the girl raised a brow teasingly, "I'm Queen of the Universe, and everyone-including you-are my loyal subjects. Now bow before me."

Pitch couldn't help but crack a toothy grin, and his smile was contagious, for it caused this girl to silently laugh as she got up from her sleek desk. She brushed some hair back before turning towards Pitch with a curious smile on her face. Pitch eyed her, smirking.

"I like you." He said lowly, causing the girl to have a quick blush before shaking it off. She was a tough-nugget like that.

"That's a relief." She said, craning her neck to look at her ceiling poster of her favorite singer, Koz. Pitch felt his upper lip curl. He didn't want to look at that doppelganger poster up there.

"May I ask your name?" Pitch asked, folding his hands behind his back.

The girl stuck out a hand, and Pitch slowly shook it. "I'm Mystic Hawk. I'm one of Fanty's friends," she noticed the look on Pitch's face, "Yes, we heard the ruckus down there. It was hard to ignore it. Did Emma really shoot you with a Nerf gun?"

"She did indeed."

That sent Mystic into cahoots. She clutched at her stomach while holding up a finger to make him wait. She finally sighed, took off her glasses, wiped them, and then put them back on, still giggling. "Wait, so she really shot you in the butt? We all heard a high pitched scream, but we knew even Emma can't make a noise like that! You sounded like a cat in heat when you scream."

"I do not!" Pitch protested, but Mystic was already laughing once more, having the need to sit down in order not to pee her pants. The last time she peed her pants laughing was when she and Drago caught Fanty in the middle of dancing to Boogey Wonderland in nothing but her underwear, a button up, and no, not socks, but swim flippers while holding a pink hairbrush. Just the memory of that hilarious moment made her laugh harder.

Pitch frowned, not finding anything amusing at all. So without another word, he disappeared and reappeared into another apartment. This one, literally screamed pink. It slightly scared him. There was graffiti all over the walls, and surprisingly, none of them had written profanity like he's seen in the cities. His favorite one was a long tag that had the word 'fuck' stretched around the base of this brick building, so it looked like a good long 'fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck'. He laughed for days.

_Heh…good long fuck. That sounds kinky. _His mind snickered, and Pitch growled for that annoying voice to stop.

A giant flat screen TV hung on the wall with the most colorful and large graffiti, and comfortable looking black leather couches surrounded the living room with stylish pillows. The kitchen was enormous, with a fully prepared table with the whole shebang, including fire truck red candles and glassware. He had to admit it, this person was extremely brave to decorate their home like this funky. If he lived here, his eyes would hurt after three hours from the pink walls.

"Hey, you mind? I'm about to leave." A friendly voice came.

Pitch looked at the direction of where he assumed an office was, and there before him stood Star with her shining brown hair tucked into a high ponytail, and thick black sunglasses that hid her big, emerald eyes. She donned light green leggings and a white tutu with green glitter on it, had at least four wooden bracelets on her left arm and had lavender colored nails. Her lime green t-shirt had big, bubbly yellow letters that simply said 'Hey' and she donned a brown leather jacket for the afternoon, windy chill.

"Good God, you're like a grown Sophie Bennett." Pitch blurted, not guilty of it at all.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. I really shouldn't be surprised Fanty has strange friends now, but I still am." Pitch shrugged nonchalantly, "You go out like that every day?"

"Yep. And no judging, because you can't talk. Take a look in the mirror before you walk down the street," Star winked as she passed him with her stylish gait, "such a shame a good-looking bod is hidden under a black tarp."

"-!? It's a robe!" Pitch protested, folding his V-neck closed a bit more and pulling his leg forward to hide his crotch. He felt naked, and it wasn't a good feeling.

"Don't kill anyone, or I'll feed you cupcakes until you explode all over the walls." Star casually said, picking up her car keys and pocketbook.

"I'll end up like your graffiti. Hopefully I'm not going to end up as written profanity." Pitch muttered, but sneered as Star grinned, showing her pearly whites.

Once Star left with Drago and Pitch was on his own again, he wandered and meandered to his heart's content. He had to admit, he was starting to grow a fondness for this building. He found Drago's apartment, and it was mostly cluttered and decorated with beautiful antiques and rustic décor. There was a cherry wood desk in the corner of her room with a well-working computer, and piles of papers and archives filled up all the nooks and crannies of that desk. The bookshelves were organized as can be, though. Pitch had to say, he liked the kitchen the best. He didn't know how a Hobbit themed kitchen would be pulled off so well! The apartment, besides clutter, gave off a feeling of homey comfort, and it made Pitch linger a little longer than the others. Well, he would have stuck around if it wasn't for this mangy puppy that was black with gold cheeks and paws that kept yapping up a storm at him and tugging on his robe with his teeth. The last thing Pitch needed was worn-and-torn clothing. So after frightening the puppy by making a growling noise and baring his teeth, he slunked into a shadow and reappeared in yet another room.

Now, you would expect the whole 'let's describe the décor and what the place looks like because the writer is stalling', but no, the first thing Pitch noticed immediately was that, yes, the occupant of this newly found apartment was waiting for him. She lurked right at the darkest spot in her home, which was right behind a painted rocking chair with dark floral pillows. Just as Pitch emerged, the girl shrieked and gave him a good whack with a rolled up People magazine. Pitch yelped and clutched his ear, his hearing thudding a bit before he shook his head.

"What in devil's name-?!" he started, glaring at the girl.

"Fanty warned me you're sneaking around here! Really? Breaking and entering people's apartments? Shouldn't you just knock!? You scared the living daylights out of me!" Xion scolded, shaking her rolled up magazine at him.

"Good, I prefer the dark rather than daylight. Who the hell are you?" Pitch muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm Xion Five. Now can you please leave? I've got business to do." Xion dropped her magazine as she crossed over to the purple and black striped couches and sitting down.

Before Pitch could ask what she was so busy with that she must ignore a guest, she un-paused an anime movie called Howls' Moving Castle. Pitch gave her a look. "Ah yes, movie watching is serious business. Don't mind me, I'll just be leaving."

"Before you go, you could have some of those strawberry and vanilla cupcakes Star left for me. They have gummy bears on them, they're really good." Xion said, not tearing her eyes away from the screen.

Pitch made a face, but then felt his face fall into shock as he saw the open room used as a display room and an office space. There was a polished desk with a super thin, black laptop and silver mouse, dark bookcases much like the ones in Mystic's apartment, but other than that, he was amazed at the homemade costumes and weaponry that hung on walls and were on mannequins. Some looked like dark Lolita dresses, others looked Elven-like, and some looked like royal mages or even frilly princess stuff. He guessed the clothing was inspired by the anime Xion watched. He especially liked the steampunk jumpsuit with the dark red goggles. Apparently she painted those goggles herself, from what it looked like up close. On the walls hung homemade weapons from anime shows as well, like throwing knives, hammers, magic wands, even giant things like shepherd's crooks, staffs and a scythe that he absolutely wanted to steal, except it was light purple with stars on it.

_Wow, she really has a talent in making this sort of stuff, _Pitch thought, peering at a neon blue wig that almost reached the floor, _so that's why she called it 'business.'_

After content goodbyes, Pitch finally met Lil Angel, who was Fanty's neighbor that took care of the Bennett children. Pitch couldn't help but keep her at bay since she was affiliated with those children, but he had to admit she was a very eccentric and friendly person much like Fanty and her friends as well. He only had a peek of her apartment, which was very modern and had many things that were light purple but also light blue, yellow and red. The fuzzy floor was white, and the walls were a cream color that complimented the comfortably sized kitchen that looked as if a batter explosion occurred with fireworks of icing. He also met Angel's pet kitten, Oreo, that seemed instantly attracted to his face so it leaped out of Angel's arms and hugged Pitch's face like a starfish, it's claws digging into his ears.

Pitch gruffly removed the kitten from his face as if it were a leech. It had quite a grip on his face! He held it out to stare at it, holding it by the back of the neck. Maybe if he scared it, the kitten would pee all over Angel's carpet. That'd be funny.

"Boo." Pitch growled.

Angel waited with baited breath, knowing Pitch was trying to make the kitten have a potty mess. But instead of what they thought would happen, the kitten merely mewled and somehow detached itself from Pitch's hand and star-fished his face again, purring into his cheek and nuzzling his nose.

"This is by far the strangest kitten I've ever met." Pitch said seriously, looking at Angel who was trying not to burst out laughing.

"Oreo can be a little lovable. The last dog that tried to chase her ended up getting snuggled so much it ran away from Oreo itself. You should've been there. It was both cute and funny to watch." Angel said, plucking Oreo off his face finally and giving his head a gentle scratch.

"…Was the dog black?" Pitch asked, feeling a smirk threaten at his lips.

Angel thought for a minute, before nodding. "It had a red collar on and bright blue eyes."

"Yeah, I remember giving a nightmare to that dog. Apparently Oreo instilled a fear of kittens in him."

That made Angel burst out laughing, and Pitch truly felt accomplished for making someone laugh once more.

By the time Pitch got back to Fanty's apartment, the strange girl was already lying upside-down on the couch, boredly watching the shadows for Pitch's arrival. It was kind of hard to swallow a turkey and tomato sandwich upside-down.

Pitch raised a brow at Fanty, unamused. "What?"

"Well? Were they cool, or were they cool?"

"…You teens creep me out worse than Tooth's feelings for Jack." Pitch hissed under his breath, folding his arms in a pout.

"OOOOOOH DO I DETECT A CRUSH?! JEALOUSY?!" Fanty beamed, flipping upright and tossing her sandwich on the coffee table, "Wait…Tooth? Jack? Who're they?"

Pitch gagged, feeling a baby barf almost float up his esophagus. "Ew, on Tooth? You're sick."

"Who the hell is Tooth?!"

"You sure you're not the jealous one?" Pitch grinned, and Fanty blushed a bright red. "OW!"

_Note to self: Fanty's got quite the fist._

"Tell me who Tooth and Jack are or I'll instill fear into you!" Fanty threatened, making her fingers dance in the air as if she were to summon dark magic.

Pitch laughed rather loudly, still keeling over from when she punched him in the gut. "That only works for me, Fanty. Like this,"

He grabbed her neck and shoved her to the couch, causing her to gasp and clutch at his wrist, her eyes widening in shock at his sudden movement. He kneeled right in front of her, his face just mere inches from hers with an acidic snarl on his mouth. His eyes burned a bright gold, that literally flashed danger. Fanty started to breathe heavily, scared out of her shorts that he was going to hurt her.

"_Tell me your fears or you'll see them brought to life_." He growled, almost like an angry wolf.

Fanty panicked, forgetting that he was just setting an example of how to really threaten someone. He didn't mean to scare her like that, he was only trying to teach her how to really threaten someone. But he was over the top, and he realized that only seconds before Fanty spilled.

"I'm afraid of heights! I'm afraid of spiders and big fish and I'm afraid of bugs with stingers, and I'm afraid of-!" she cried out.

Pitch slammed a hand against her mouth to stop her, and Fanty saw the worry flash across his eyes. It scared her even more. It scared her so much she nearly wet herself. He looked so startled, so honestly worried that it actually worked and that she was so close to confessing…

But before Pitch could apologize, the door was burst open with a strong kick, and they both heard two voices scream, "HY-YAHH!"

Pitch bolted up, and Fanty turned around to see Mystic and Xion standing with tightened fists, giving death glares at Pitch. Fanty furrowed her eyebrows and shouted, "IDIOT! Look at the door! You busted a crack in it! Mr. Joyce will kill me!"

"DIS BASTARD HERE!" Xion pointed at Pitch, who cursed under his breath as he took three baby steps back.

"Was he hurting you, Fanty?! We received a distress call that sounded like you confessing your fears and we're here to kick BUTT!" Mystic said strongly, cracking her knuckles to prove her strength.

"I wasn't meaning-!" Pitch started, but Fanty stood up on the couch and waved her arms.

"He didn't mean to! He was showing me an example of how to properly threat someone. It's okay, guys. Thanks for the concern, though." Fanty finished with a promising smile.

Xion and Mystic were suspicious, and gave Pitch a doubtful look before closing the door tightly. Fanty and Pitch could still hear them walk down the hall and discuss about fixing the dent they kicked into the door. She smiled to herself before looking at Pitch with an apologetic smile. He breathed a sigh of relief before plopping himself onto a cushioned chair, and put one foot up onto the footrest to really let himself relax.

"That was way too close." Pitch sighed, rubbing his tired face.

"Is it just me or were you just scared of my friends?" Fanty folded her arms with a smug little face on her lips.

Pitch gave her a knowing look before chuckling. "Everyone is afraid of something…I learned the hard way…"

Fanty noticed his eyes turn silver, misty with memories that made his smile fall and for a second, look…remorseful. Her dark brown eyebrows crinkled in worry as she sat on the floor in front of him, watching with pure rapture. _How do his eyes do that?_ She wondered, resting her head in her hand, _I wish I could change mine from brown to blue._

"You're lucky you have protective friends like that. I don't have any." Pitch said quite truthfully.

Fanty shrugged, knowing very well why he doesn't have many. She has heard of some sort of war he lost, and she knew from the start that he was apparently a bad egg, but no details whatsoever.

"I'm sure you do. You just haven't found them, yet. You could be my friend if you want." Fanty offered, smiling at the idea.

Pitch scoffed, "With a human? Hun, I am an immortal being that instills fear into every living thing, and I do this as a duty here on earth. It isn't an occupation where I get paid."

"Racist." Fanty pouted, folding her arms like a child, "Then why do you try to drill fear in others?"

Pitch didn't miss a beat. His eyes returned to the fiery gold Fanty was starting to get used to, and he hissed his answer, an answer full of history and angst, "To be believed in. That's what all the spirits do on this planet. They are cursed with the life of immortality and with a purpose, and if that purpose isn't fulfilled properly, they _die._"

"Wait, whoa, back up!" Fanty held up her hands, "There are other people like you out there?"

"Hardly people," Pitch said, leaning closer to her, "just call them what they are. Beings. Spirits. _Guardians._" He snarled at the word in spite.

"You monologued about them once, but then I shut you up with a pillow. All I know is that it's Jamie Bennett's fault as well as Jack Frost. Isn't he just an expression?"

Pitch thought for a second, looking away from her earnest eyes. And after some time…he grinned evilly.

"Yes…yes, Fanty. He's just an expression. He doesn't exist at all. But Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and-"

"The Easter Bunny and Sandman do?!" Fanty exclaimed, excitement ringing in her voice.

Pitch curtly nodded, "But they brought me pain. I ruled the very era of the Dark Ages, and they brought me to the shadows at the Earth's core. I tried regaining what once was mine, but I lost the battle yet again. I was so close to gaining a victory, but that stupid child Jamie-"

"Jamie's not stupid," Fanty said, shaking her head vigorously, "He's a smart kid with a big heart. And I know Jack Frost exists because a, he talks about him 24/7, and b, you are a terrible liar."

Pitch stuck out his lower lip, angry at being so carefully read. Fanty continued that she did believe his story, just that maybe there was a better way to be believed in without parents and children hating him. He couldn't help it, he was the Boogeyman for crying out loud!

But there was something Pitch left out in his story. He didn't tell her how his belief was very thin, like the width of a string. But when Fanty spilled some of her fears to him, he felt that string grow stronger, become more durable and thicker. He learned that though kids were the easiest targets for fear, the teenagers have the strongest and most powerful fears. They're trickier to harbor and snag onto, but they're long lasting and can be a better resource than just petty children.

And Pitch liked a good challenge.

* * *

**Leave a review, follow, favorite, I dunno, bookmark this on yo favorites bar on the internet or something. :D Have a great day/night!**


	5. The Moon's Words

**Greetings, fellow readers. I am Pitch Black, as you probably know by now. Fanty cannot come to the computer at the moment. She's been very persistent to finish her painting and comic book for the art academy she's attending in order to receive high school credit for her final year. Yes, stubborn, isn't she? Well, it's for a good cause. She informed me I shall be reading you this chapter, and also reply to some of the reviews. For some reviews, she's too stunned to really respond to. That's where I come in. Boo.**

**Anyways. A response to Mystichawk: Yes, hello dear. It has certainly been a while. Fanty promises you absolute glee in the future of this story (don't know what she means by that but I guess it's involving me).**

**A response to JustVisitng (Guest): High? Hm. I'm not sure about Fanty. Let me ask her. Just a moment please.**

***calls* Fanty! What's your ranking on here? High or low?**

**She's somewhere between high and middle.**

**A response to wup (Guest): Beware, if you touch them you'll light on fire. That's how 'hot' they are. Not the correct term? Then you must have meant 'attractive' and I'm just too old-fashioned to know the term or even care.**

**A response to OMMGGGG 3 (Guest): Ship? What do you mean ship?**

***to Fanty in distance* Are we going on a boat? No? Oh, that's what it means? Huh.**

**No...**

**Ok Fanty says its up to the readers if they want a 'ship'. **

***to Fanty* Hey, let's give them the Titanic. It's like false hope and then it sinks. *evil laughter***

**I knew you people here were crazy, but you guests are even stranger. I'll just leave it at that. Oh, and Fanty says she sends lots of hugs and hope you enjoy the story. Goodbye, readers.**

* * *

Since it was Halloween, Fanty arranged a party with everyone, including Pitch. The Nightmare King watched Fanty set up streamers of gold, black and orange, and blow up balloons of black and orange. She set out a pile of Blu-Ray DVDs like _The Nightmare before Christmas_, _A Charlie Brown Halloween_, _Sleepy Hollow_, and her _Harry Potter_ collection. She even baked a giant cake that looked like half a pumpkin, lit orange candles on the table, and set up bowls of popcorn, m&ms, caramels, gummy bears and lollipops near the TV. Pitch was offered to help cook the chicken fingers, but he ended up just putting the ketchup and BBQ sauce on the table instead.

Fanty didn't like how he handled the stove.

What really creeped the hell out of Pitch was that Fanty dressed for the party. He knew kids did for Halloween, but not teens. Apparently he needs to _really _learn more in order to become stronger and take in more fear. She dressed as a pirate, with the whole embroidered coat, feathered hat, heavy boots and swashbuckling cutlass. Good thing the cutlass was fake, because she whacked him with it when he tried sneaking a caramel.

It startled him even more that everyone else wore costumes as well. Mystic was the first to arrive with a bowlful of fruit salad, dressed as Artemis Fowl. She looked very fancy and mature in the costume, unlike Angel, who dressed as a giant kitten with the bell and everything. Xion dressed as a man named Doctor Who, who Pitch didn't really know but the name sure did sound familiar. He must have heard his name while searching for fear. Star dressed as a mermaid, and she even dyed her hair a bright blue and green and painted scales on her legs that almost looked real. Drago was the last to arrive, but came with the delicious mint fudge and bottles of root beer, cream soda and Sprite. She wore a shaded hat, a whip by her side, high brown boots, a leather jacket that looked well worn, light brown pants and a button up.

"Indiana Jones." She smiled at Pitch, shaking his hand while trying to balance the tray of mint fudge in one arm.

"Wow." Pitch could only blurt.

The merriment lasted for about four hours, just three hours to midnight. Music blared from the stereo, and all the girls jumped to dance to Thriller. Pitch simply watched and ate caramels to his heart's content, pretending to be bored but really fascinated by their way of celebration. It was strange, because he was so used to people shuddering and hiding from fear while these girls literally laughed at its ugly face. He couldn't help but smile at their bravery.

After eating to their fill of dinner consisting of chicken fingers, fruit salad, French fries and pasta, they sat around the TV, surrounding Pitch completely and blocking off any escape. Fanty sat to his right and Angel to his left.

"So what's it like being immortal?" Drago asked, resting her head in her hand as she slowly chewed on a caramel.

"Boring at times, but you certainly have your freedoms." Pitch honestly replied, feeling oddly warm and flattered at the attention that was on him.

"What do you do for fun?" Xion asked, leaning forward as if Pitch were to tell a secret.

Pitch shrugged indifferently, "Sometimes I like to go for a ride on one of my nightmares or take a stroll through the forest. Maybe even read a good book."

"Really? Have you read Brothers' Grimm?" Xion beamed, her eyes shining.

Pitch nodded, and started listing off his fingers, "Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Grimm, Algernon Blackwood, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, you name it."

Fanty rested a hand on his arm, and he looked at her. She gave him a warning look, a look that really made her appear like the pirate she dressed as. "Be careful, Pitch, or Xion might swoon."

If Xion could, she'd have flowers and light flares erupting from her very body like in those animes she loved so much.

They continued to talk, making sure they avoided sensitive topics like why Pitch had contempt for certain spirits. Once it finally hit midnight, the sugar rush exploded. The girls were perky and bouncing up and down, wild smiles on their faces. Pitch couldn't help but laugh at them. They all voted to watch _The Nightmare before Christmas, _and Fanty quickly popped it in before snuggling up into the couch once the movie started.

Everyone laughed at certain parts and enjoyed the film, but Pitch and the girls-besides Fanty-laughed at the introduction to Oogie Boogie. Once the shot of his actual buggy form came forth from the shadows to torment Santa Claus, Fanty gasped and jumped behind the sofa, peeking out so only her hat to her eyes could be seen. Pitch laughed cruelly, understanding why Oogie Boogie freaked her out. All those bugs crawling out of him didn't scare him, but it did gross him out. Still, the music was entertaining. Everyone turned from the screen to watch Pitch, who tapped his foot along with the music and had a happy smile on his face as he bobbed his head side to side. He imagined himself in Oogie Boogie's place and North in Santa Claus's place, strapped to the table after being kidnapped.

But then Fanty and the girls giggled at Pitch's face during Jack and Sally's duet, which was twisted into a grimace.

"They just _had _to put romance in it. Maybe if he bit off her arm I would rate it five stars." Pitch said as everyone sat in a circle in Fanty's living room, the lights dim and the candles lit to tell ghost stories.

"Jack does have scary looking teeth." Mystic nodded, understanding where Pitch was coming from.

"I dunno, romance is pretty cute. Just not for some movies." Fanty said dreamily.

Pitch scoffed and shoved a lollipop in her mouth, and she glared at him, but then began eating it since it was in fact her favorite kind.

"Pitch, have you ever been in a relationship?" Drago asked, playing with her candy wrapper.

Fanty choked on her lollipop as she hooted with laughter, causing half of the girls to glare at her or smirk. Pitch gave her a look, and without a warning, growled and bared his teeth at her with his fingers curled, getting into the right light of the candle to accent his cheekbones and his eyes and teeth. Fanty shrieked, and then slapped the lollipop onto his nose, and Pitch exclaimed at the disgusting cavity on a stick that was glued to his nose.

Drago, Xion, Mystic, Star and Angel burst out laughing, making Fanty grin happily that she was able to outmaneuver Pitch without making a mess. Pitch finally yanked off the lollipop from his nose and tossed it into a nearby garbage can, before gently rubbing his nose at the feeling of air hitting his skin.

"But really, have you?" Star asked, eager to know.

Pitch cast one glare at Fanty before replying, "Yes, I have."

Everyone gasped. "Really?! Who!? Mother Nature?!"

Pitch looked horrified, "She's my daughter!"

Everyone held up their hands in apology, and Pitch could tell from their wide eyes they meant no harm and they sincerely were sorry. The pose they were all doing looked as if they were about to do a ritual in a witch's coven.

"Awkward!" Xion exclaimed, and Star couldn't help but laugh it off.

"We're sorry, Pitch. We're not very knowledgeable on spirits and stuff you're so used to." Drago said with a gently smile, handing him a napkin to get rid of the remaining lollipop goo on his nose.

"And I asked about the Tooth Fairy earlier, and that was a definite no." Fanty informed the five other girls, who nodded understandingly.

"I was married before I became the Nightmare King," Pitch said lowly, really not wanting to talk about it, "I had a daughter, too."

"Was that daughter Mother Nature?" Mystic asked.

Pitch nodded, and something in Fanty clicked. She could see he didn't want to talk about this, so she vouched for him immediately, "Hey! Let's hear Pitch share a scary story. I bet he's really good at it!"

Everyone agreed with unison of "Yeah!" and compliments on his work as the Boogeyman and making Halloween so spooky. Pitch felt truthfully flattered, and he couldn't help but smile proudly as he shifted his legs, making him look even taller than he was before.

"Well, I am pretty talented. Hmm…which story?" Pitch playfully tapped his chin, and the six girls grinned and leaned forward, wanting to hear the best horror story from him.

"Ah! Well, long ago, during my first centuries as the Boogeyman, there was this tiny village somewhere in Mexico, and in this village was this beautiful woman named Maria. She was loved by far, and I couldn't blame them. She had silky looking hair that nearly reached the floor, and her eyes were the color of rich chocolate. Back then, chocolate was a luxury, but she received so much of it, it made her fill with pride at knowing how beautiful she was."

"She sounds high-strung." Fanty crinkled her nose, but the other girls shushed her for Pitch to continue.

"But then this traveler came into the village, and once he saw Maria, he fell in love just like the rest of the men. But unlike them, he was persistent, clever, and knew just how to woo her and earn her heart. Maria, thinking he was the perfect match for her since he was handsome, fell in love with him and immediately agreed to his marriage proposal. It sounds promising, does it not? They even had two beautiful children, and they seemed to be such a happily family. But…"

"There it is, the but!" Xion exclaimed, and Drago covered her mouth with her hand, enraptured with the story and Pitch's deep, velvety voice.

"Maria's husband returned to the praries, where he originally came from. Days turned into weeks, and he would then leave at dawn and return in time for supper. Maria, confused and suspicious at his departures, asked the other villagers where he goes, yet none knew. She knew he would come back, for he always did. Just before their two children got into bed, he would come home and spend time with them, like telling tales of his adventures and his family's history. Yet…he paid no attention to Maria. She was starting to get irritated. Was he no longer enraptured with her beauty? Her suspicions got the best of her, and slowly she grew more angry every day he left. But one fateful Sunday, a day of Sabbath, Maria's husband admitted to seeing another woman of his own class and wanting to never see her again.

Maria was furious. Her anger turned into red-hot hate. She even started to hate her own children, for they got his attention and love when she received none. To her, it was their fault. But that afternoon she was on a stroll with her two children, her not-so-faithful husband drove by in a richly decorated carriage, and sitting beside him was a wealthy looking woman. He only stopped to greet his kids, wish them a pleasant day and continued on down the road.

That caused the final blow to Maria's pride, for she was so angry and spiteful, she grabbed her kids by their necks and threw them into the river, and they _drowned._"

"Oh no…" Drago whimpered, her eyes widening in shock.

"But just as their bodies floated down the river, she realized the horrible mistake she made. She cried out in fear, and tried to reach for them, but they were _gone. _The following morning, a lone traveler on his way home found her dead body by the side of the river. The village buried her in the exact spot where she was found dead.

Yet…every night, the villagers could hear a woman crying in the night, somewhere close to the river. She cried for her children. A foolish villager went out around midnight to confront the sound, but never returned nor was heard from again. Some say her red-hot anger turned her eyes red and she attacked him, drowning him just like how she drowned her kids. Even now, she still roams the rivers, sobbing for her children."

Pitch looked at every individual girl, and grinned in victory. They all shook with fear, had gumball sized eyes and were either biting at their nails or hugging themselves, their mouths wide open.

"I've heard the story before," Mystic finally choked out, "But you made it ten times creepier."

"You definitely have the voice for it." Drago nodded in agreement to Angel's opinion.

"Well! I think that sums up this party. Bedtime!" Pitch clapped his hands, like he was the king of the court.

All the girls groaned and whined, falling limply to the floor in a mini tantrum. Well, besides Drago. She merely shrugged while looking at her watch, knowing Pitch was right. She was the most mature of the group anyways.

"Aww, why!?"

"Do we have to?"

"Noooo…."

"I don't wanna."

"This isn't fair!"

Pitch grabbed at his hair, feeling ashamed. "Oh MiM, I feel like I'm your father. This is terrible."

After everyone left, everything was cleaned up and Fanty was out like a light and sleeping in her bed, Pitch sat on the couch in the living room, peering at the DVD case of Sleepy Hollow.

_This story was true,_ he thought to himself, flipping it over to see the actors in the movie, _I remember. The sense of fear was so thick. Even I couldn't approach the Headless Horseman. Not that I was scared. He was just rude._

He silently put the DVD case down and rubbed at his head out of exhaustion. _What am I even doing? Why am I even sticking around here? I could just leave and never come back._ The thought made him sit up and berate himself, _You wished day and night for someone to accept you, and you finally got your wish. Granted, they may be insane teenagers, but you were having fun and you like having them around, admit it._

"Darn. I'm stuck." Pitch muttered to himself, standing up in frustration and pacing over to the window, where he could see Man in Moon shine brightly in the navy blue sky.

He glared at the moon, and hissed rudely, "You did this, didn't you? Fate. This was all fate caused by you."

Pitch listened to his reply, and scoffed. "Don't play dumb. Why do you choose to speak to me now and not when I needed you most?"

He listened again, and rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Dark Ages Shmark Ages."

He waited. He then furrowed his eyebrows and spat, "I am _not _turning into Fanty!"

But then Man in Moon said something that caught his attention. "Wait, why do I need her?"

Man in Moon explained himself, watching Pitch's expression fall from suspicious confusion to utter disbelief. "Wait…I'm…why?"

Man in Moon was silent for a minute, and tried explaining that he was trying to help Pitch, but Pitch was…scared. He was too scared. He stepped away from the window, half hidden from the line of sight of the moon.

"But why? Why am I dying?"


	6. I'm So Classic

**I did this as fast as I could at everyone's demand, so sorry if this feels choppy or a bit quick. Holy cow! I wasn't expecting to make people pee their pants and sob and fall of their chairs and such! And I NEED to reply to these reviews right now, because I totally dropped a bombshell last chapter. Wag of the finger to me, right? Ha! Oh, and do you guys like my cover photo!? :D I made that! I mean, I didn't paint the entire thing but yeah! That's moi in the corner ;)**

**...Really, I'm super proud of that cover photo. I gotta do more!**

**Now, to uvray12: And I love you to-grk! I'll do something when you let go of me, thank you dahl. And don't worry, by now you should know that Fanty and her friends would never let Pitch die. :) (If anyone makes a comment about Listen to Your Heart, ZIP IT! I cried writing that.)**

**Lil Angel 927, yes, Pitch is very attractive. And we will see how attractive he will get in the future! *cackles***

**Deadluck666, good question! Your question will be answered within this chapter, dear. So don't fret. :) **

**iamCAMBRIA, ...O_O Seriously? You're the second person. I'm getting a little weirded, but thank you I think? It'll be a little weird writing that, but I guess if more people request the ship then I'll do it. Know why? Because I love my readers!**

**...Really, the things I do for them and their requests are insane. They made me write a lemon...Don't kill me. *hides under desk***

**Starskulls, I hope you still had fun on your family trip! :D Your outfits are da bomb, girl. And no, I did not make up that story of La Llorona, that is a legit story that has been centuries old. Some people around the Mexican area (including parts of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico), believe that story to be very true. **

***claps hands* And that wraps up our review replies today! Please enjoy this chapter, and as a disclaimer to Jack Frost fans: I love you. Please. Don't. Kill. Me. I'll just leave it at that.**

* * *

The last thing Pitch wanted was Fanty knowing that he was dying. And it wasn't the type of dying people were so commonly used to. He was just….fading away. He remembered North's words, 'As long as one child believes, we will be able to fight fear.'

As long as they had at least one believer, the Guardians could come back and stay strong.

Since Pitch was no Guardian, it was harder for him. Even if he just had one, he would die. Spirits like him needed more. Even if there would always be fear in the world, it was children that impacted how he survived. As long as they believed in fear and in the Boogeyman, he could still breathe, blink, and do his job.

He wasn't ready to die. Even after thousands of centuries, he just didn't want to.

November finally arrived, and the entire town of Burgess was colored with the leaves of autumn. People were getting ready for a festival at the park, and Fanty was going to be there along with Angel and Drago, helping with the decorations and music. That morning Fanty woke up and was getting ready to go and help, Pitch acted like his usual self, as he wasn't offended and somewhat sad that Man in Moon said he might not live for long. He needed to take in fear, or leave the town.

Was there another solution?

Apparently Man in Moon told everyone else, especially the Guardians. And surprisingly, their reactions were varying.

"Good," Bunny said proudly, "Less of a threat, more peace and hope. Good job, everyone!"

"Bunny, enough." Tooth said disapprovingly, "Even if an enemy is dying, it isn't nice to cheer at their death."

"She's right." North said, sitting in a rocking chair.

"Hold on, you are actually defending him?!" Bunny demanded, looking shocked.

Tooth, North, and Sandy hesitantly nodded. But both Jack and Bunny furrowed their eyebrows in frustration.

"This is Pitch we're talking about. He nearly destroyed us." Jack said, making a very valid point.

"True," Tooth said, fluttering her wings a bit faster, "but does that give us the right to just watch him die? You know what he was like before he became Pitch Black. Pitch may be evil, but there must be a part of him that's still good."

"Manny said something about that, how these teenagers see him." North said, and everyone looked startled.

"Teens?!" Bunny said, slightly disgusted.

"Teens?" Tooth was completely confused.

"Teens?" Jack grinned, fixing his sweatshirt and combing his hair back with his fingers. After three hundred years he could finally flirt again!

"Yes. This girl named Fanty is the ring leader, I think. From what it sounds, she kidnapped Pitch when he was doing his dirty work-"

Bunny, Jack and Sandy burst into howls of laughter-Sandy's silent, of course-and even Tooth giggled like a maniac as she somersaulted in the air from the amount of hilarity that got to them.

"W-wait!" Bunny gasped, wiping a stray tear from his emerald green eye, "This girl, Fanty, just _kidnapped _him!?"

"She sounds badass!" Jack wildly grinned, looking as if he could celebrate into the air like the excitable boy he was.

Sandy hesitantly nodded, before shaking a finger at Jack's language. Jack stuck out his tongue playfully and glanced at North, who was suffering by trying to hide a grin.

"She set up trap and everything. Very smart girl! Not on nice list for that, however." North shook his head.

"So there's Fanty, and then her five other friends, Xion, Mystic, Angel, Star and Drago? Interesting names."

"Drago's name sounds like she's a dragon rider. I want a name like that!" Jack said, and Tooth grinned and nodded excitedly.

"They even know Bennett children! Angel babysits for them at times. Fanty visits as well." North said, standing up from the rocking chair and strolling over to be closer to the group.

But before a conversation could start, Jack whooshed out of the main room and into the freezing air of the North Pole, eager as ever to meet these six girls. Not only his age, but GIRLS! And they knew Jamie, too. But they're _girls!_

"I feel sorry for him." Bunny chuckled, and Tooth gave him a curious look.

"Why?"

"He's eternally stuck with unbalanced hormones. It's hilarious!" Bunny snickered, and even North and Sandy chuckled along with him.

Tooth's feathers ruffled in irritation, and she snapped, "Stop it! He's not a floozy!"

That made the three men-if you count a Pooka a man-laugh even harder, and Tooth's feathers started to fluff and her wings hummed faster. "At least he doesn't flirt with water nymphs!"

Bunny gasped, shocked at Tooth's insult. "Take that back!"

"Can't. They're words," Tooth grinned, and did her best evil cackle. It wasn't very convincing, and she couldn't help but cough at the effort. "Blah, I need to work on that."

"No you don't. For Manny's sake, Tooth, you're a Guardian, not a fearling." Bunny rolled his eyes.

"She make good fearling costume, though!" North piped up, and Tooth batted his compliment away with a grin on her face, knowing she had that costume in the bag for Halloween.

Bunny grumbled, "I can't even believe we went to Jackal's Halloween party. The Headless Horseman still owes me twenty bucks."

"From that gambling game?" Tooth gave him a stern look, making even the elves look away in modesty.

Fanty just finished setting out the colorful stones at the Fishing booth, and drizzled a bit of blue glitter on top of them as well. She sighed with her work happily, and admired her finished labor. A giant wooden board sat next to the booth stand, painted bright blue with dark green kelp, colorful seashells, grey rocks and painted fish of many colors. Bubbles floated up to the surface, and she even was able to make a rippling effect at the top. Five fishing hooks made for children laid on the ground, and the one hundred and fifty lunch bags of candy neatly hid inside the booth. Another person that was helping out named Richie, started carefully placing the prizes on the booth table, which were round bowls with beta fish, goldfish or hermit crabs in them, complete with pebbles and a decorative anchor.

After being allowed to leave and heading back to the apartment, Fanty was ready to just get a bag of Doritos, plop onto the couch and watch another episode of Honey, Did You Eat the Neighbors? Pitch would probably like it, Fanty wasn't sure if he liked the subject of man-eating aliens. It wasn't scary, it was funny and worth watching.

But when she came home, she was met with the five other friends circling her apartment with wild grins on their faces, and inside two male voices shouted at each other.

"Who's in my apartment besides Pitch?" Fanty asked, starting to get a little worried.

"Well, Pitch kinda said, 'Well, well, well, if it isn't Jack Boogerface Frost' so I think it's Jack Frost." Drago said, and snickered at Xion's dreamy sigh.

"He's so cute! I've never seen anyone so adorable." Xion fanned herself, smiling like a goofball.

"Oh for Pete's sake, are you for real?" Fanty smirked at Xion, and Angel hugged herself, swaying her hips side to side.

"Imagine him keeping you cool in the summer, all those chilly hugs to keep the heat away." Xion gasped, and she and Angel squealed in excitement.

Fanty watched them, and then peeked in to see Jack smirking proudly and standing tall as Pitch glared down at him, knowing very well he was being watched. _Nope, Pitch is still cuter._ Fanty thought.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. _Hmm…._Fanty evilly grinned, and chuckled darkly.

"Oh, crap, I know that look." Star gave Fanty a worried look.

But Mystic just grinned along, trying to keep her giggles in. She knew exactly what Fanty was going to do. Drago's eyes widened as Fanty walked in, acting like nothing was going on outside in the hallway.

"Pitch!" Fanty called, and the two spirits looked up to see an older teenager with dark brown hair up in a ponytail stand in the kitchen, her arms folded over her chest. Jack grinned, knowing that must be Fanty.

"Who are you yelling at?" Fanty said, keeping her eyes trained on Pitch.

Jack's smile fell. He looked up at Pitch, who looked confused. "Jack Fro-_Oh_." Pitch finally got her little trick and grinned evilly at Jack.

"Who's Jack Frost?" Fanty asked, pretending to be curious.

"What?" Jack Frost squeaked, his baby blue eyes widening in horror, "But I'm right here! No!"

"Talking to yourself isn't gonna fix anything. Especially yelling." Fanty said, waving a hand away at the mere idea of such a self-conversation.

Pitch nodded, "I agree. I didn't mean to talk to _myself_," Pitch cast a spiteful smirk at Jack, who's lower lip began to quiver.

"Please! Pitch, come on! Make her see me!" Jack begged.

"I dunno, Frost. What's it going to take?" Pitch sighed, observing his nails boredly.

Jack furrowed his eyebrows in anger, holding his staff tightly, "I'm not falling to my knees and begging!"

"I say, do you feel a draft?" Fanty said in her best British accent, and the three girls out there, Drago, Star and Mystic, cackled at her little jab. But Xion and Angel grew weary and upset, wishing they could just burst in and tackle Fanty and punch her right in the gut and then kiss Jack's cheeks until they were pink.

Jack fell to his knees, dropping his staff and clutched at Pitch's robe in agony, sobbing hysterically. "PLEAAASE! PLEASE MAKE HER BELIEVE IN ME! AAUUUGHH!"

Pitch finally grinned, and to Jack's surprise, laughed. It wasn't a menacing laugh like he would expect, it was a laugh of complete amusement! It sounded less threatening than his dark laugh. He turned to Fanty, a happy smile on his face, "Did you get it?"

Fanty clicked off her video recorder on her phone, and nodded excitedly. "Got it! Don't worry, Jack, I could see you from the beginning." Fanty smiled at Jack, who was so frozen-heh-in shock, he couldn't even explode with anger (like most Jack Frost fangirls are probably doing right now. The writer sends her apologies).

"You-!? You-!?" Jack stood up abruptly, pointing at her with an accusing finger.

"Me! Me! Me!" Fanty pointed at herself, and laughed more, and the five other girls rushed in to meet Jack Frost.

While Xion gave his arm a hug as everyone else asked questions and flattered him, Pitch came up to Fanty with a proud grin, took her hand and spun her around. "You definitely are evil."

"I'm so classic." Fanty chuckled, and when she looked over at Jack again, couldn't help but smile wider.

Jack was grinning proudly as the girls fluttered around him. He brushed off their compliments and statements as if they were no big deal, but everyone could tell he was joyful at the prospect of not just more believers, but being hassled over like this was like Tooth times five.

"He's gloating." Pitch said flatly.

"Jealous? I could get Mystic to dress like you if you want." Fanty folded her arms as if she were daring him.

"She would look good." Pitch grinned, and Fanty slapped him at his cheeky grin.

After the other five girls left-Xion the last one who was literally floating on Cloud Nine when Jack smiled at her-Jack said casually as he plopped himself onto a chair, "Anyway, I heard Pitch made new friends. Me, thinking they were new enemies, went to check it out. But then I notice Pitch hasn't lost most of his youth, apparently."

"Shut up, Frost." Pitch glared at him, still standing in the kitchen. He refused to sit down until Jack left.

"Who told you?" Fanty asked, raising a brow.

"North, but North was told by Man in Moon."

"The old kid's rhyme where the cow jumped over the moon?" Fanty asked again, genuinely confused.

"That stupid cheeseball! That tattletale!" Pitch hissed, slamming a fist into his open hand.

Jack gave Fanty a weird look, ignoring Pitch completely, "Uh, no-"

"Oh, then that Harry Chapin's song, 'Cat's in the Cradle'?" Fanty beamed, and started singing happily, "Cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man in the moon, when ya coming home, son, I don't know when, but we'll be together then!"

Jack gave Fanty a look before looking up at Pitch, who just shook his head and face palmed. "Frost, I've been stuck with her for _three weeks."_

Jack, being the cheeky teen he was, grinned, "That's a better punishment that being dragged into an abyss by your own army."

"Shut up!" Pitch snapped.

After Jack explained to Fanty who Man in the Moon was, and Fanty's question if Man in Moon was like their version of God (which made Pitch slam his head against a wall), Jack left. Fanty thought maybe her quirkiness chased him off, maybe even her little joke, and immediately felt bad. Pitch merely shook it off, "He's socially awkward."

"You are, too," Fanty looked up at him with a teasing grin, "at least sometimes."

Pitch snarled softly, "Am not."

"Yep. Hey! And I have some great news!" Fanty exclaimed, jumping onto her feet and bouncing up and down on the couch.

"Before, there's something I have to tell you…" Pitch said quietly, not bearing to look into her eyes honestly.

Was he really going to ask her for help? He needed belief in order to live. Fanty's fears, if she gave them to him, would only last for at least two more years, until he would fade away. If that was all that's left for grabs, Pitch would jump for it. Still, a pang was in his heart, a feeling of guilt. Something told him to just tell her that she was a…gulp….friend. Maybe not a friend like he would prefer like the Spirit of Halloween and the Spirit of Misery, but still a friend.

"Us girls are all going shopping tomorrow, and-and-and-and-!" Fanty rushed excitedly, not stopping her jumping at all.

"Fanty, wait, I need to tell you-" Pitch said a little bit louder, but still meekly.

"And you're coming with us!" Fanty clapped excitedly.

Silence rang in Pitch's stunned ears. Fanty watched him, her excited face not falling whatsoever. _NONONONONOONO!_ His mind screamed, dreading the mere idea of shopping with a bunch of pubescent girls with seemingly bottomless pits called 'purses'. This was his worst nightmare.

Yep. Things just got worse.

* * *

**I made up a Halloween spirit, Jackal. Not sure why I chose that name, but I think it sounds very Halloweeny.**

**The TV show Honey, Did You Eat the Neighbors is made up. Sorry. (Maybe I'll pitch the idea next time I go to Warner Bros Studios on a field trip...if I can get ahold of the producers)**

***grapples Jack Frost fans* Dont leaaave me please! I beg of thee! You'll have your revenge next chapter, I promise by a blood oath!**

**Drop a review, and I'll drop a hug for ya! :D And maybe I'll get Pitch to D-D-D-D-DROP THE BASS!**


	7. Motorcycles and Guardians

**Hey, guys and girls! Just wanna let you know that due to recent requests of a Fanty and Pitch pairing, I've placed a poll on my profile. I highly encourage you to cast your vote if you want to see it happen or not. An honest answer is a cherished one! Personally, I would like to keep things the way they are, and I don't want to make myself look self-centered in a shipping position. Just because I'm a writer, doesn't mean I get the luxury. (Really, I'm eating Ramen noodles and wearing my Avengers PJs while listening to the Thor: The Dark World soundtrack. How luxurious can you get?) Hopefully you all understand. :)**

**...No, I'm not a child. I'm at the ripe old age of seventeen *singsong voice* going on eighteen. (I really hope some of you got that musical reference. Whoever guesses it in a review they leave will have the next chapter dedicated to them.)**

**Pitch: You act like you're nine.**

**Good. That means I must be the Guardian of Youth!**

**Pitch: No, you're not.**

**Then I'm the proud writer of this story, which is true! This chapter is BY FAR my favorite! Hopefully this will make people laugh harder than before! Which reminds me, to whoever that reviewer was who said you peed your pants, it seems as if I got a bill in the mail for a new pair of slacks. I paid extra for a nice belt and a safety diaper, just in case you pee laughing again. ;)**

**That was a joke.**

**Pitch: THEY GOT IT! Now get this chapter over with because it's already embarrassing enough!**

**Sheesh, alright! Here we go! :D**

* * *

They had to knock him out. They had to! Pitch was putting up such a fit not to go shopping with them and making failed attempts at escaping, that Angel knocked him out. Xion, Star, Drago, and Mystic stared at his unconscious body in horror.

Fanty demanded, "Angel! Was that necessary?!"

Angel huffed, blowing hair out of her face, "Hey, his tantrums were out of control, and secondly, we're only two miles away from sticking him in a feminine dress. I want to see him in a dress!"

The five other girls stared at Angel, their mouths open and their eyes wide, blinking in sync. Angel pursed her lips, worried maybe she really did make the wrong decision.

"That is….a genius!" Xion cheered, and Drago broke into an excited grin.

"Dude! The prom dresses are still being sold at Kohl's! Let's get him in one of those!" Fanty declared, and everyone agreed in happy unision.

"I vote a purple, sparkly dress!" Star shouted, raising her hand in favor.

Everyone cheered as they raised their hands in favor, too. But then Fanty, after agreeing on the unanimous vote, looked at Pitch's body. He looked like he was midway doing the worm with his bum in the air. Mystic raised her hand as if to spank him, but Drago lowered her arm with a roll of her eyes. Star snickered behind her hand, "white high heels." And the other girls snickered along.

How were they to put him in the car? Fanty thought for a good long ten minutes.

"You think Pitch is okay?" Xion asked as she fidgeted in the passenger seat as Fanty drove to Kohl's.

Fanty nodded, keeping her eyes on the road as she took a right turn.

"He's fine. Mystic was able to find enough climbing rope to keep him secure." Star piped up from behind Fanty, forgetting to buckle in again.

Yep, they strapped Pitch to the roof of the car. And yes, his bum is still in the air. Almost every kid on the block that still believed in him stared at the car as if it was a human carrying a horse on their back instead of riding the horse itself.

Through the blackness Pitch wandered through in his unconscious state and trying to regain his senses, he heard faint giggling and a loud cackle that was immediately shut up by a chorus of shushes. About fifteen minutes later, he finally pried open his eyes, blinking at the strange lighting. It was more white than Fanty's apartment. And when he looked up, he was met with a closed red curtain with black Velcro holding it shut for privacy. He raised his arms to touch the narrow walls that enclosed around him, like a wooden cell with no bars. But then he saw his arms was covered with a lavender purple and glittering sleeve. Pitch's eyes shot open even wider, and his mouth let out a horrified gasp as he looked at his arms, got off the chair he was on and looked at his legs, only to wobble in his place at something that strangled his feet tightly.

"What in Manny's name?!" Pitch shouted, looking at his reflection in the mirror with pure terror.

He heard giggles from outside, followed by a snort, and then loud laughter. Feeling the fury bubble up and flow through his fiery veins, Pitch saw his own eyes in the mirror turn silver as a sign of danger, whipped around and whisked open the curtain to see six girls, yes, the girls he knew _sooo _well, either reading a magazine, texting, observing the paintings on the opposite wall or looking away so he wouldn't see them struggling to hold in their laughter.

"YOU ARE ALL EVIL!" Pitch screamed, and the six friends burst out laughing.

"Worse than you?" Fanty grinned, looking him up and down, "I have to say, that dress style suits you!"

"Ha-ha! I love those heels, by the way." Mystic grinned, and Star patted her back in admiration for finding those.

"I hate you all. You better be careful when you fall asleep tonight. I'll be there." Pitch threatened, pulling at the dress's waist. He was dying in it, and he was itchy as hell!

Even his threat didn't stop their giggles, but Drago calmed down and said soothingly, "Pitch, it was just a little fun. Fanty chickened out halfway through and felt bad." She glanced at Fanty with an understanding eye.

Fanty didn't look at anyone, just the pile of folded clothes in her arms while biting her lip shut. Xion snickered and said teasingly, "Goodie two-shoes."

"Oi!" Fanty exclaimed, her neck snapping up to look at her, "At least I wasn't looking for makeup and bras for him!"

Xion, unfazed by Fanty's remark and Pitch's mouth dropping to the floor in pure horror, pointed at her and winked, "Touché, my friend."

"Anyways, I found these for you," Fanty said, standing up and handing the bundle to him, "And it's for real this time. I picked them myself."

"Nope. Now I'm definitely not trying them on." Pitch snarled, folding his arms in anger.

Something made him stop. Fanty looked up at him, her eyes sad and begging. She even stuck out her lower lip for an extra effect. Everyone watched, thinking she was actually hurt. Pitch could hear Mystic cracking her knuckles. Pitch watched Fanty for a while, doing her perfectly foolproof Bambi eyes, before growling, "Fine." And snatching them from her arms.

Fanty grinned, her victory smile making everyone relax.

"I can't stand when you do that." Pitch muttered as he closed the curtains irritably, kicking the high heels off.

Before Mystic could say 'Maybe it was my prepared knuckle sandwich that changed your mind', Pitch exclaimed, "OH, MY ANKLES! How do women even wear these torture devices?!"

That sent everyone into hoots of laughter, and Fanty immediately shut herself up as she watched his feet under the curtain. She watched one foot disappear and another as he put on pants, and turned just a bit to look at the boots she found for him. She could tell by his pause he was unsure.

"So much leather…" Pitch groaned, not liking where this outfit was going.

Everyone's head whipped to look at Fanty who wildly grinned back, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh, no, this is bad." Xion mouthed, trying not to snicker.

"Fanty, the last thing we need is you getting the hots for Pitch." Drago whispered to her, sounding a bit concerned.

Fanty looked at her, confused, "Why would I…?"

Mystic grinned, folding her arms boldly, "You kind of have a thing for men in leather. We've noticed that before you."

"Crap." Fanty's eyes widened, realizing her mistake.

Pitch drew back the curtains, and saw every girl's eyes widen and their jaws fall to the ground. Pitch awkwardly smirked, liking that reaction better than being laughed at.

"Fanty, you're a genius." Mystic breathed, not tearing her eyes away from Pitch's leather jacket.

"Notice how I didn't get a shirt since the jacket looks like a v-neck when closed? Aren't I smart!?" Fanty beamed at her success, but then resumed staring at Pitch.

He had black leather boots on, which he would definitely prefer over white high heels with diamond hearts on the buckle. His black jeans hugged his skinny legs, and were held up by a black, leather belt. Even his leather jacket hugged his body perfectly.

Pitch finally grinned, feeling like he was not only noticed, but _dashing._

"All I need is a motorcycle." He said, looking down at his legs once more.

"You're single, right?" Angel asked, and everyone looked at her, shocked. "Angel!"

"What?! It's just a question!" Angel defended herself, blushing in embarrassment.

But when Angel looked back at Pitch, he grinned and winked at her, causing her to make some sort of noise like 'eek!' and hid her face in the beanbag chair. Fanty gave Pitch a look, and he grinned mischievously.

"Don't play with your food, Pitch." Fanty said, smiling at her joke.

Everyone burst into laughter, even Pitch. Fanty went out of the dressing room for a minute and brought back aviator's sunglasses, black of course. Pitch put them on, and struck a pose, finally feeling…human. And he liked that feeling.

Mystic fainted for a second, but she was recovered.

Man in Moon smiled down at the world, and although daylight, some could see him in the blue sky. He watched Jack for a while play a game with Bunny on who can knock down the most elves with basketballs. Shaking his head, he observed Toothiana, smiling at her hard work she gives every hour and every minute. North did just the same, and Sandy-of course- slept comfortably on a downy pillow in his Sand Ship.

But when he looked over in Pitch's direction, something made him stop.

_What…the…heck?_

He saw a Boogeyman walking down the street with six other girls, three on each side, wearing full on leather and shades. The girls wore the same theme as him, and they looked like a Fast and Furious cast into reality.

_Pitch, _Manny said, shaking his head while laughing, _I knew you would change, but not like that._

But there was something Manny kept thinking about that kept his mind busy. The Guardians, many nights before today, had a meeting about Pitch. They came to a conclusion that he was honestly quite surprised about, and even Jack's seriousness somewhat startled him.

"This isn't a joke anymore, a spirit is dying." Bunny said, "Granted, its Pitch and we don't like him, but that can't mean he has to die."

"I have to admit, I feel bad for thinking it was a good thing." Jack admitted, and Tooth gently rubbed his back at his bravery for admitting such a thing.

"Manny chose him for reason. Manny knew him from before his time as Boogeyman, so maybe he sees something we don't." North said, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Sandy looked at Tooth for her voice, his eyes reading his own message. Tooth smiled gently and nodded in agreement, "You're right, Sandy. We all have a purpose on Earth, just like humans. That means Pitch does, too. He can't die."

Sandy smiled, giving her a double thumbs up in agreement, and then silently clapped.

"I have to say," Jack said thoughtfully, "and this may be an effect from meeting Fanty, but I can see why Pitch must exist. Fear keeps others from doing things bad, right?"

When he saw the blank faces around the meeting table, he clarified, "I mean, fear keeps people from disobeying the law. They don't want to be caught in a criminal position. Fear keeps children from sneaking things and lying to people, as well as learning about their world. Fear helps courage grow…right?"

Everyone stared at Jack. He would be the last person who would EVER admit that aloud. Tooth blinked, and then smiled dreamily. Yep, she was head over heels for him. Nothing could prevent that. North smiled softly, seeing how Jack really has changed over the past couple of years since their victory over the Nightmare War.

"Jack, I'm so proud of you." North said, and Sandy nodded in agreement.

Being speechless and confused at why they were acting like this, the Spirit of Fun felt a furry paw pat his shoulder, and he looked up to see Bunny giving a slight smile. "I guess you're not thick after all, mate."

"Buttwipe." Jack smirked, shaking him off and making Bunny glare at him.

"Don't kill the moment, Jack." Tooth said, rolling her eyes while smiling.

"Maybe that's why the girls like Pitch, though." Jack said, looking back at everyone.

"Because they believe in him?" Bunny guessed, and Jack shook his head.

"Because he's helping them strengthen their courage."

* * *

**FEELS. OH, THE FEELS. Kidding, there's no feels. ;) Again, please cast your vote on the poll on my profile page! It'll mean the world to me.**

**Oh, and I have an announcement! I would like to send this message out to any deviantarts or artists out there who enjoyed this chapter to make a picture for me. Instead of payment in cash, I will follow you on DeviantArt, dedicate a chapter for you AND have you star in a cameo appearance! :D Pretty cool, right?! The picture could be either of these two: Pitch in the sparkly purple dress, looking very furious, or in that leather style outfit with a smirk on his face and aviator glasses.**

**PM me if you have any questions and send me the link in your message (spaces between, we should all know that by now) to your work of art. Good luck, and drop a review for me! :D LOVE YOU ALL!**


	8. Fanty's For Real

**Well, well, well, if it isn't the readers themselves. Hello, it is I, Pitch Black. Fanty cannot come to the computer at the moment, for she is bed ridden. Fool ended up bruising her back while hiking, and she says it hurts very much. Apparently she missed the second step of a nook in a rock whilst climbing and she fell and landed on her back. Good thing it wasn't too high.**

**Yes, she still is able to drive me nuts. It's not THAT serious.**

**Correction, she just scolded me that it hurts like a mofo. So I believe it hurts enough. Glad I'm not in her place.**

**She keeps me on my toes, fetching games and forcing me to play them. I won't tell you the results when we played Pin the Tail on the Dog. Let's just say her mother knows how to swing a frying pan at my head.**

**Since Fanty is unable to post the chapter herself, I shall be doing the honors. Whoop. Dee. Doo. Lucky me. So as I type up the intro for you, she's watching Star Wars: The Old Republic clips on YouTube and gushing over someone named Malavai Quinn. *scoffs* Girls...**

**Ah, well. I'm starting to get used to it. I'd rather be doing this than being near the Guardians. (I don't think Frost understands that even as a spirit he still has hygiene to worry about. You'd be surprised.)**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Have a good day.**

* * *

The first snow finally fell, around the second week into the month of November. It was soft and gentle, and the kids were happily playing outside making snow angels and blowing snow from their mittened hands, watching them fly into the air again.

Fanty's duty at the day care was to be the playground monitor for the older kids in kindergarten and first grade, and she ended up having an epic snowball fight with some of the kids, making their time at the day care even more exciting and fun. She even built snow castles with them from the beach toys used for the sandbox that lay in the shed, and the kids had fun finding little pebbles and using them to make windows and doors.

Fanty had so much fun with the kids she accidentally worked overtime, forgetting to clock out at five thirty in the afternoon completely.

As she gave the last toddler to his eager mother, she thought about Pitch and the other girls back at the apartment. Before she left for work, Mystic and Xion were in an epic battle in a videogame, Drago and Angel left for their jobs as well, and Star was busy baking cupcakes to put in the local bakery.

Something irked her. Her thoughts dug deeper in consideration as she yanked on her bomber jacket as she ventured into the snow, her light blue sneakers crunching against the snow. Since the daycare was considerably close to the apartment, she liked taking a casual stroll now and then instead of wasting gas on just a quarter of a mile. But what Fanty found strange is that when she left Pitch alone that morning, he seemed…quiet. Oddly quiet in a way that made her stomach flip in concern. He looked exhausted, and when she woke up that morning and made breakfast, she noticed immediately he had dark circles under his eyes and his lips were terribly chapped. Fanty thought that Pitch hasn't been sleeping properly, but then she remembered that Pitch doesn't have to sleep. She tried cheering him up by making an omelet with cheese and bits of green and red pepper with a hint of onion. She learned weeks ago that he liked that, so she thought maybe that would cheer him up, but it didn't, even if he ate ravenously.

_Come to think about it,_ Fanty thought, _he's been acting strange ever since the Halloween party. Why didn't I notice this sooner?_

_Maybe because you were too naïve and stuck in your own world to notice. _Her mind grumbled, and Fanty bit her lip, knowing that was right. She dragged him into things he didn't want to do a lot, and that wasn't fair. He should at least have a turn…one that didn't involve herself screaming.

_Now that I remember, he was trying to tell me something before we went on that shopping trip. Could that be it? _Even if Fanty questioned it, something told her it was true.

Suddenly, she was jostled in her right shoulder, and she gasped in surprise. The person who accidentally hit her gasped too, dropping their paper bag of goods they just purchased at the nearby drug store. A bag of mints, some bubble gum and a few rolls of toilet paper fell out of the bag, and Fanty and this stranger immediately bent down to pick up the spilled contents. Fanty apologized over and over as she snatched a Dial soap bar from the snow, and gave it to the person.

"Really, I'm terribly sorry." Fanty said, blushing from her embarrassment. She could be such a klutz sometimes.

"Hey, it's alright," the stranger smiled understandingly, "I was distracted, too. My name is DeadLuck."

"DeadLuck?" Fanty asked, and then brightened, "Hey! You're in that local band right? An honor to meet you, I'm Fanty."

"Nice to meet you, too," DeadLuck nodded, her blue hair shaking out of her eyes, "Well! I better get going. Have a good day!"

"You, too." Fanty smiled, and then continued walking down the street to the crosswalk, pressing the button hard so the streetlight would know she touched it.

The tiny meeting with DeadLuck made her think of how she and Pitch met, or just...unexpected things in general. Why would things unpredictably happen to her? There never was a warning label with an upcoming event or something. Just like how she accidentally bumped into DeadLuck, she was surprised by successfully trapping Pitch in a booby trap. A. Booby. Trap. How crazy can she even get? Her life was crazy, which made her that as well. Because of these unexpected events and meeting with people, she just became that quirky person that seemed prepared and excited for anything. But sometimes she just wanted to relax, to just curl up into a ball and just disappear from all the surprises she didn't want in life.

After surprisingly meeting Pitch, she wanted to be a spirit, too.

Just as Fanty unlocked her door and walked into the kitchen, she saw Pitch's crumpled body on the floor, his face scrunched against the floor. Fanty screamed and ran over to Pitch, not caring that she was scared for his life and probably disrupted the entire neighborhood.

Pitch wasn't unconscious, but he was barely holding on. When Fanty showered him with questions if he was alright, Pitch sensed her fear. It was the Fear of Loss. _She's afraid I'm dying. _Pitch's mind said, honestly surprised. No one has been worried for him like that.

That small bit of fear brought back some energy to him, and he immediately snatched Fanty's hand, causing her to gasp. He shakily got up on one elbow, his desperate, golden eyes digging into Fanty's brown ones.

"Pitch! What's going on?! You're clammy, and you look half dead!" Fanty panicked, breathing shallowly.

"I…am." He barely choked out, and he could hear Fanty's voice shatter in her throat as tears started to pool at her eyes.

"What do I do?! I don't know how to help a spirit. Tell me what to do!" Fanty demanded, making him sit against the back of the couch, feeling his cold forehead.

"Tell me…your…fears. All of them." Pitch shuddered, feeling another giant wave of pain run up his spine, a sign that he was just minutes away from disappearing.

Fanty hyperventilated, not sure where to start. So, being the friend she was, grabbed Pitch's hand in hope and gushed out every single fear she felt in life.

"I'm sometimes afraid of the dark, and I'm terrified of climbing ladders and being at the edges of cliffs. I'm scared of mean people and I'm scared of losing friends and family, and I'm scared of dying. I'm afraid of giant spiders, poisonous fish, clowns, and being abandoned. I'm afraid of being bullied and harassed, and I'm afraid of not being accepted. And-! And-! And-!"

Fanty didn't know how else to help. Those were most of her fears, but there was a major one she never admitted aloud, not even to the other five girls. As she spilled her fears, Pitch felt the pain in his spine and nerves ebb away, spreading warmth and such relaxation he couldn't help but sigh, letting his head drop onto her shoulder due to his relaxing muscles. Fanty started sobbing, knowing there was no turning back and she would never be able to forgive herself for admitting her biggest fear aloud.

"_I'm afraid of love!"_ Fanty sobbed, "I'm afraid of it hurting me and losing it, and I'm afraid of being weakened by it!"

Pitch stopped, and looked up at her, wide eyed. He knew that fear was in her, and he made sure he never touched that boundary because he knew it would damage her. That was why she moved to Burgess…she was badly hurt. This was a part of her not even her five friends saw, nor even knew. Pitch pursed his lips, feeling guilty just letting Fanty cry into her hands as he just sat back and watched. What was he supposed to do? He can't hug her, because hugging wasn't his thing. Then again, he couldn't just watch her cry and break apart.

"Hey…um…" Pitch stammered, and pursed his lips shut when Fanty looked at him.

"What?" she asked, sniffing.

"You uh…you're not the only one. So…" Pitch looked away, folding his arms, "it's okay."

"Wow, you're good at cheering someone up." Fanty sadly teased, trying her hardest to lighten the mood. It wasn't really working.

Pitch rolled his eyes, "Fanty, I'm a four thousand five hundred and thirty year old spirit that hasn't dealt with this before. Give me some respect, will you?"

Fanty was quiet for a while, deep in thought. Pitch was right, there were others in the world with that same fear. It made her think…what was Pitch's fear?

"What are you afraid of?"

"Hormonal teenagers that like men in leather." Pitch smirked, his bad joke making Fanty smile, stopping her tears in their tracks.

"Really!" Fanty laughed, shifting her legs so she was sitting Indian style. She wiped at her eyes stubbornly.

"At least I made you laugh." Pitch sadly smiled, looking away. Again, _no one _has made him feel ever involved or cared for like Fanty and her friends have.

"Pitch…" Fanty said, resting her hand on his knee. She wished she could just tell him how grateful she was that he was alive, and not in severe pain like he was a ten minutes ago. Relief swept over her, but she still was badly shaken by sharing _every single fear._

Pitch was silent for a while, before he finally choked out, "I'm afraid of myself."

A great urge swept over him, some sort of power he's never felt before. He knew the name; it just wasn't coming to him. Relief? Was it called that? He's barely felt that in his immortal life, how could he just feel it now? But he did. He was relieved of a great weight in his stomach, as if someone lifted a heavy stone off his body so he could breathe a bit better.

Fanty stared at Pitch, pitying him. She's had moments like that herself, many times. She's been afraid of who she was, a naïve girl that was energetic. She knew her energy sometimes drove people away, but she slowly learned that the ones that stayed despite her eccentric attitude were the friends to keep. Pitch watched her facial expressions, and held up a stern finger.

"If you tell _anyone_, you're _dead." _He swore solemnly.

Fanty crossed her heart and then held up her hand, "I wouldn't dream of it. And I know how you feel," Fanty said, pouting a bit, "you're afraid of hurting others, right?"

"It's not that I don't enjoy giving nightmares, I truly do. It's just that I get amounts of hatred that hurts after a while. Fear keeps people in their place, and yet _this_ happens." He gestured to his body, still looking weak and frail from his fall.

"What exactly happened?" Fanty asked, biting her lip and secretly knowing it was horrible.

Pitch shook his head, "I'm dying. That's what Man in Moon said. He said that the only way I can fix this is to find a solution through you, but your fears themselves won't help me forever. I'm not ready to die."

"No one is. I don't want you to die, and I know many others who wouldn't either. Five, to be exact." Fanty smiled brightly, trying to be positive.

"Not those stupid Guardians." Pitch snarled, and then yelped when Fanty flicked his forehead.

"I meant my friends, goofball! Hey…that's it!" Fanty snapped her fingers, an idea popping into her head.

"I feed off your friends' fears, too?" Pitch guessed, but was flicked in the forehead again, and he snatched at her hand in annoyance for touching him like that, "Stop it, Fanty."

"Sorry. It's kinda funny seeing your face scrunch up when I flick you," Fanty snickered before becoming serious, "and I meant the Guardians. Maybe they have something that can help you, right? Surely they would know."

Pitch thought for a while. He knew this option would be the best way to go. For all that talk saying he would rather die than communicate with a Guardian, it was a bit of a stretch. Maybe he would rather eat a bucket-full of puffer fish than talk to them. Fanty could tell by his scowl he didn't like the idea at all, but he had to comply in order to save himself. He knew just who had the resources in his mammoth-sized library.

"North must have something at the pole for us. We could…go there. But I seriously don't want to," Pitch whined a bit, letting his head slack in a mini temper tantrum, "Do we have to go?"

"Pitch!" Fanty shook his shoulders furiously, "You're dying and they're the only solution! LET'S GO!"

"Alright, alright! Are you going to tell your friends where you're going?" Pitch grabbed her hands off him, and then stood elegantly like the Boogeyman he was. He had to regain some sort of regality back.

Fanty nodded, before grabbing her bomber jacket, and sprinting down the hall to where her room lay, forcing the jacket on roughly. To Pitch's confusion, she grabbed a nearby metal broom, and with the handle, banged it three times against the ceiling. She waited, and then a minute later three loud stomping noises came back, and she smiled in return. Fanty ran back into the living room and did the same thing but to the floor instead. Again, a loud noise banged back, thrice. Pitch raised a brow, and Fanty deposited the broom next to the bookshelf before turning to Pitch with a grin.

"Mystic, and Star know I'm going to be gone. I'm ready!" Fanty said, putting her hands on her hips proudly.

"…No you're not. Where are your bags? Your winter clothing? I don't know, items for the _North Pole?_" Pitch pressed, getting a bit snarky.

Fanty gave him a flat look, and he held up his hands, "Don't say I didn't warn you. Let's go."

Fanty followed Pitch down the hallway, and noted how he shut off all the lights to create more darkness and shadows. She knew he traveled with the shadows, but wasn't so sure if _she _could, too.

"This will only take us a minute at least, maybe even less. You may feel a slight discomfort at first." Pitch informed her, weaving his arm around her waist.

"Whoa, dude!" Fanty yanked off her arm, and Pitch looked at her in shock, "Yeah, total discomfort. Before we go there can't we just talk out our feelings first?"

Pitch glared at her, almost making her shrink back. "If I don't have physical contact with you, you'll just ram into the wall and get a big, ugly bruise on your face while I go to the Pole alone."

Fanty growled under her breath, and instead of letting Pitch hold her like that-since it made her heart do flips that freaked her out-she touched his arm with her pinkie finger. She glanced at him, noticing a vein of annoyance throbbing in his skull.

"Give me your hand, you wimp!" Pitch hissed, and snatched Fanty's hand in his and then yanked her towards the corner of the hallway, dark and slightly haunting.

Fanty immediately flinched, afraid she was going to slam right into the wall, but instead, she felt herself being whizzed through the air, as if someone put rollerblades on her and sent her careening down a hill, and all she saw was darkness.

Before she could scream, Pitch and Fanty morphed into a new location, and Fanty-being the silly girl she was-tripped on Pitch's robe and fell on her face, groaning in pain. Pitch rolled his eyes, his arms folded across his chest.

"Vell, I certainly don't like looks of this." A loud and large voice like a god said.

Fanty looked up, and was met with the sight of a towering hulk of a man, staring down Pitch as if they were about to do a gun slinging fight in a western movie. He had big, brown boots that looked handmade and his face donned a long, white beard. His sleeves were rolled up to reveal tattoos on each forearm, and somewhere on the forearm it read 'Naughty' and 'Nice.' His icy blue eyes glared at Pitch, and Fanty made some sort of stuttering noise in her state of shock, that he looked down, and he noticed he was almost stepping on a teenage girl.

"Bozhe! Who are you?" the big man asked loudly, quite startled to see a girl stumbling to get on her knees.

Pitch chuckled, sensing Fanty's fear as she lurched back, not wanting to be too close to someone so muscular and threatening looking. North, noticing the terror in her chocolate brown eyes, started to kindly chuckle.

"So sorry, girl. No need to be afraid. I am North, but you call me Santa." He said in his best friendly manner, holding out his hand to be shaken.

Fanty stared at him, slack jawed. _THIS was Santa!? …Awesome!_ Fanty finally smiled a bit, feeling shy as she shook North's hand. He had a good, strong grip as he helped her up on her feet, nearly lifting her off the ground.

"Careful, North. Your brute strength might shatter the china doll." Pitch sneered, and received a glare from North once more. Fanty nearly smirked at him, a warning that literally meant that she knew he would be crushed by North's power.

"My name is Fanty," she said, turning back to North, "I'm here to help Pitch."

"We know, Manny told us." North nodded, turning to other beings that suddenly appeared.

A giant bunny hopped forward, and stood on his strong hind legs and held out his paw, smirking. Fanty jumped back, terrified, "Holy mother of Thor!"

Bunny, not the slightest bit offended, raised a brow, "What, you never saw a Pooka before?"

"Sorry, b-but no." Fanty said in a dazed manner, shaking his fuzzy paw in greeting.

"I'm kidding," Bunny grinned, showing clean rabbit teeth, "I'm the Easter Bunny."

Fanty nodded, starting to smile too, "Something told me you were."

"Must be the ears." Jack Frost said from behind him, and waved at Fanty enthusiastically.

"Hi, Jack!" Fanty grinned, waving back, "How's the snow?"

"Awesome, as usual." Jack proudly grinned.

Suddenly, a whirl of colors darted in front of Fanty, and she looked up to see a smiling woman's face with big, magenta eyes. Tiny hummingbirds with the faces just like her darted around her in excitement, and this hummingbird-fairy's wings were fluttering excitedly.

"Hello, Fanty! I'm Tooth."

"Nice to meet you-!" Fanty started, but then her mouth was yanked open as the Tooth Fairy peeked in.

"Oh, those braces did a fine job! You were a good girl, not getting any terrible cavities. I remember your first teeth that grew in when you were a baby. Instead of your front teeth, they were your upper lateral incisors. You looked like a baby vampire! It slightly scared me, but your teeth turned out beautifully!"

"Tooth, fingers out of mouth." North raised a knowing brow, and Tooth nervously laughed in embarrassment.

"Sorry," She said, sticking out her hand to be shaken, "It's a habit."

"Understandable." Fanty smiled, feeling her heart swell up in excitement. _Wow! Meeting not only Santa but the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy! _

A stout, golden man with the cutest button nose Fanty has ever seen on a being patted her leg for her attention, and when she looked down to see what touched her, he smiled and waved his hand in greeting. Fanty beamed, holding out her hand to be shaken, "And you must be Sandman! Thanks for all those wonderful dreams the past couple of years, bro."

Sandy nodded happily, and shook her hand. He felt so proud, knowing that she was happy with his nighttime gifts of dreams. Tooth giggled as he jokingly smoothed back his hair and thumbed his golden sandy coat, smiling broadly.

Fanty looked at everyone, reality sinking in. _I can't believe this. I'm actually standing in front of the Guardians. They're so cool!_

"So, I was wondering if you guys could help us." Fanty started shyly, twiddling with her fingers at the subject.

"But first!" North interrupted her, clapping his hands, "Ve must have party at a guest's arrival! With drinks and merriment and music-!"

"And a dress! Let's dress Fanty up!" Tooth offered excitedly, flitting around at the idea.

Fanty held up her hands, blushing, "No, no, no, it's fine. We're only dropping by."

Pitched nudged her from behind, "There's no point. They won't stop until a party is in order. This is another reason why I don't like being around them."

Fanty started panicking. Pitch's life was on the line and all the Guardians could think about is to put together a party for their former enemy and newly made friend? Unbelievable! And she never liked huge and decked-out parties, they made her feel small. Besides, where was the party without her friends? Mystic had to be somewhere with the cans of root beer and Sprite screaming, "LET'S GET HYPER!" and Star twirling like a ballerina on the coffee table. But the Guardian's idea of a party was very formal, something Fanty was not fond of at all and it brought back bad memories of broken hearts and horrible school dances.

Pitch, worried at her silence minus the deer-in-the-headlights eyes and shallow breathing, said loudly for them to hear, "I'm dying and all you can think of is a party?!"

The five Guardians stopped their constant chattering about decorations and food, looking at Pitch with pity. It's not that they forgot, of course they didn't. And it certainly wasn't because they got sidetracked either. They just wanted to lighten the mood, make them feel welcome and sort of apologize to Pitch without really saying it. The Guardians knew that if they verbally said the words, 'We're sorry', Pitch would gloat not just for years, but _decades. _Even Pitch himself knew he would, too. So the Guardians, knowing that Pitch and Fanty were coming any time soon, tried coming up with ways to let Pitch know that they felt bad for him, that they were to help him out.

Maybe if they just moved on from the past, they could understand him, really listen to why he acts the way he does. But they don't. No one can move from the past…at least, that's what Fanty thought.

"Pitch…we just…we just want to make things up." Tooth tried saying, but ended up quieting down when he looked at her oddly.

"Make what up? The war? I'm over that." He lied, and Fanty caught that flashing red lie immediately.

"Dude, no you aren't. You have been ranting about it for weeks since we first met. Do you know how annoying it is to hear you complain-" and she was interrupted when he slapped his hand over her mouth.

Bunny smirked, "Are you guys-?"

"Bunny! Enough." Tooth snapped, knowing where this would lead all too well.

Pitch glared at Bunny hatefully, and spat acidly, "No, we are not. Nor would I ever want to be related to her in any way."

Fanty licked his hand, and he retracted it with a disgusted yelp. She made a victorious face before folding her arms, "Yeah, but I think after a month in a half with Pitch, I wouldn't think of getting closer to him. He's just a friend."

"Yeah, a friend." Pitch said, somewhat uncomfortably. When was the last time he had a friend? Gees, at least more than a thousand years ago. Maybe even more. Man in Moon would know, but then again, Man in Moon wasn't fond of Pitch.

Even if North still rushed the yetis and elves into making delicious gourmet foods for Fanty and Pitch-which Pitch refused-the Guardians led the two into the grand library. Here, the golden wood shelves reached almost to the ceiling, and books ranged from encyclopedias, dictionaries, even to poetry collections and graphic novels. When Fanty saw that North had the second edition of the Thor graphic novels, she squealed and begged him to borrow them, which he complied. There was a grand fireplace on the west side of the library with a toasty, roaring fire. Up on the mantle were different types of Christmas snow globes and wintry flowers that slightly glimmered in the chandelier light. The stone floor was covered in different rugs, mostly corresponding with the theme of red, green and brown. A giant, soft sofa sat in front of the fireplace and next to it was an end table with a set of green candles and a thick, scarlet book. What Fanty found curious was that there was a navy blue bean bag chair close to the sofa, furthest away from the fireplace.

"Mine," Jack pointed to it, "I stole it from a thrift shop."

"He's on Naughty List for that." North cast a teasing look at Jack, who blew a raspberry and curled up into the beanbag chair. Frost already began to coat the beanbag chair once his bottom touched it.

Everyone sat down, and Fanty sat on the floor in front of North as if he were her grandfather about to share stories. Pitch meandered in front of them, often letting his fingers touch the mantelpiece of the fireplace, liking the feeling of the thick stones and warmth of the fire. North took the scarlet book from the end table and opened it slowly, licking his thumb and forefinger to thumb through the yellowed pages of this certain book.

"Us Guardians hold most secrets to the spirit life, but not all. Such matters like this happens before, even now," North glanced at Pitch, and then continued flipping pages until he was at a page he found, "but it takes great magic to heal."

"Magic? Like, witchcraft?" Fanty asked, curious.

"Witchcraft is the title for mortals born with the powers of magic," Tooth informed, "Spirits with the gift are called magi, or mages. The most famous one you know is-"

"Merlin." Fanty nodded, understanding.

"And Morgana. I remember her; she's the Spirit of Magic." Bunny nodded, looking at North for approval.

Pitch looked at the Guardians, and then at Fanty. For some reason, he wasn't comfortable with her being allowed access to the world of spirits, like the Bennett kids were. He wasn't as her age, but then again, the Guardians didn't exist during his adolescence. No spirits did. Only Constellations and Tsars and Goddesses. Why did it all have to depend on Fanty and her friends to help him recover his strength?

"Since Pitch isn't a Guardian, he needs stronger belief. One child isn't enough," Bunny said, crouching next to Fanty to seriously tell her.

"So…that's where I come in?" Fanty guessed, and in response, the Guardians nodded.

"Your five friends helped Pitch in great ways, but Fanty-for some unknown reason-has a connection to Pitch that's stronger than all of theirs combined. It is just like Jack and Jamie's bond. There is no name for it, but it is very important for every spirit in this world." North said wisely, showing Fanty the page he was looking at in the book.

There was a bunch of text in a language she has never seen before, which looked so majestic and elaborate, she guessed it was a written language only North and the other spirits would know. On the right page, bottom left, was an image of a spirit form holding out open hands to a child, both of them smiling with hope. Between their hands was a bright light, glowing with life. Fanty still didn't understand, and it must have shown on her face, for Jack spoke up nonchalantly.

"Basically, the book is saying you and Pitch must do a ritual in order to regain his belief back. North calls it Black Magic," Jack cast a look at the man.

"More like a way to cheat belief." North said sourly.

"But sometimes it's necessary. I didn't know this stuff existed, and I had to learn the hard way. We all did." He gestured to everyone.

Fanty sadly looked down, "Jamie told me how you guys suffered…" she looked back up bravely, determined to not let that happen to Pitch, "How do we have to make this possible? What do we do?"

North closed the book and put it back on the end table. And elf popped up out of nowhere and snatched the book, and Fanty could hear the pitter patter of its feet as it went to the nearest bookshelf to put it back in.

"Book does not say, but it does say you must seek Morgana, the Spirit of Magic. She knows everything-"

"Literally, _everything," _Jack shuddered, "she was the first one to tell me how babies are made. I've never looked at adults the same way ever since."

"Yeesh." Pitch and Fanty said in unison, and they looked at each other before quickly looking away, embarrassed at the twin reaction.

"I remember your face after that!" Bunny cackled, "You looked like you walked in on two horses mating!"

"Don't bring up that subject! You know I'm trying to forget that spring as much as I can!" Jack snapped, pointing an accusing finger.

"Boys, boys," Tooth scolded, shaking her head, "Fanty and Pitch first, and _then _you can bicker all you want."

Sandy shook his head, _I'm not going to be around to hear that. Either that or be asleep._

North looked out the window to see it was nighttime outside, the stars twinkling brightly in the navy blue sky. He tutted, glancing at Fanty who looked uncomfortable at the time. Smiling generously, he patted her shoulder and helped her up.

"Why not stay a night? We can give you at least a hot dinner and a bed to sleep in. I'm sure Tooth can give you a nightgown."

"Nightgo-?" Fanty started, and Tooth awkwardly laughed.

"I uh, have a habit of taking old things and reusing them. At least in my spare time. Which is about an hour and a half per year." She shyly rubbed her arm.

"Whoa." Fanty breathed, shocked at the extreme time crunch.

Jack nodded excitedly, "she took some old Indian drapes and made at least eight dresses out of them. She's pretty talented."

Tooth blushed and giggled at the compliment. Fanty grinned, for she could tell Tooth had a thing for Jack.

"Please, Pitch?" Fanty turned to the Nightmare King, who looked down at her unresponsively. She could tell he was deep in thought, lost in his own world before shaking himself out of it and said sourly, "You think you're able to sleep in a dark room with someone who's most likely going to give you a nightmare?"

"Pitch, don't even-!" North started angrily.

He held up his hands in surrender, "I was joking, old man. I know better. The last time I gave Fanty a nightmare she gave me a bloody nose."

Tooth, Jack and Bunny applauded, and Pitch glared daggers at them as Fanty took a bow, blowing kisses and saying happily, "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week."

For one night, it was relaxed and getting ready for the trip to Morgana's Glade, a hidden realm somewhere deep in the forests of England. Fanty was ready, Pitch wasn't. Fanty looked as if she had no problem that she was going to sacrifice her own strength for his own gain. He paced back and forth, and to Fanty's demand to calm down, he sat at the edge of the giant bed North provided for Fanty, as well as a nighttime snack of Christmas cookies and deliciously cold chocolate milk. Fanty ate her fill of sugar cookies coated in thick icing before falling asleep, curling up into the expanse of pillows and quilted comforters like a kitten. Pitch heard her breathing slow down, peaceful in her dreamland. He looked behind to see her sleeping happily, almost smiling through her sleep. The light of the Victorian lamp highlighted her cheekbones, making her look more elven like than he noticed. When he looked closer at her form, he realized how tiny her ears were, slightly pointed at the tip. It was barely noticeable, but he could see it in the light.

…Maybe, like Jamie's link to strong belief, Fanty had a link to magic.

"Or something…" Pitch muttered, looking away and slumping onto his elbows. He had no idea what to think. All in just a matter of one day, he had all this information in his brain that buzzed around and gave him a throbbing headache. It made him want to rest his eyes, for it gave him a dull pain behind his eyelids.

He looked back at Fanty, who rolled onto her stomach and gently rubbed at her nose, a childish move in his opinion. She wore a nightgown that looked like it was made from Indian saris, shining with different shades of pink and yellow. Her dark brown hair swept into her eyes, already messy from just one turn in her sleep.

Pitch smirked and leaned across the bed to tuck her in, feeling that father instinct kick in. Just as he pulled up the comforters to her chin and got up, Fanty made a noise and gently tugged at his robe, making him almost smile.

"Stay?" she murmured, yawning a bit.

"I don't sleep." Pitch denied, turning to give her a superior smirk.

"Snuggle, then." Fanty smiled in her sleep, reaching her hand out for him.

Pitch freaked, moving back quickly, "Freak!" and with that, he disappeared into a shadow.

Fanty grinned in her sleep triumphantly, and rolled over onto her back so she had the entire bed to herself. Finally, she didn't have to hear Pitch's constant muttering and disturbance of the silence around the room so she could sleep. She yawned one more time before feeling herself slip into slumber, warmed by not just the comforters and quilts but the vintage pot-belly stove in the corner of the room, which had glowing coals inside that cast flickers of light against the hardwood flooring.

_Victory, _she thought happily, _Fantasy Dreamer 244 will always prevail._

* * *

**Fanty says, "Sorry, peeps! It's a little long, and since I've been kinda busy lately, it may be a bit miscombobulated-"**

**I think she meant discombobulated. Whatever, I thought it was alright. Have a good day.**


	9. Meeting Morgana's Daughter

**Hello, one and all. :) I would like to report that my back is much better now, I just have to take it easy by not carrying extra weight. Its as if your positive feedback and good tidings helped me heal! Thank you very much. We're actually coming close to the end of this story, but no worries! Another source of entertainment with a different friend o' mine will be here shortly. I will say that after I post this chapter, I will be returning to my family's cottage for a week to enjoy the lake, and there's no wifi. Unless my grandparents allow me to stay with them in their house, then I'll post when I return. Please continue leaving reviews! You don't know how happy you all make me feel when I see my inbox fill up with them. I save all of them! :D**

**This story has a cameo of PierceTheMegan, who participated in the fanart contest and won a tie along with DeadLuck666. Congrats!**

**Pitch: 'Friend o' mine'? Fanty, he's planning to destroy humanity.**

**Meh, let him try. He's just searching to find out who he is. He's like Elsa.**

**Pitch: Yeah, Elsa with a bad temper and Daddy issues.**

**I think you guys get the picture who's coming up next in the follow up story. ;) Ciao!**

* * *

Fanty padded down the wide, grand stairs in her bare feet, smacking her lips tiredly. Sandy came in to wake her up-not one of his favorite things to do-and tell her breakfast was ready. She almost tripped on her nightgown, which was a little bit long on her petite frame. Fanty's brown hair was a mess, like Anna's in the movie _Frozen._ Just as she landed on the stone flooring and slowly trudged to the grand feasting hall, Jack Frost swooped down from the rafters and drifted alongside her casually, grinning like the silly boy he was.

"Mornin', Sleepyhead!" he greeted cheerfully, bopping her nose with the staff.

"Hi, Jack. Did you sleep last night?" Fanty yawned, scratching her head sleepily.

Jack happily shook his head, "Nope. Once you fell asleep I went to Russia. Moscow looks awesome with a foot of snow, by the way."

Fanty nodded, not really ready to have a full on conversation in the morning. Just as she opened the doors, her eyes went wide.

Not only was there a giant feast set before her, but Mystic and Star stood by the long table, looking around in astonishment. When they saw Fanty in this Indian, colorful nightgown with a living nightmare of bed hair, they gasped and ran over.

"Fanty, we were so worried about you! Xion almost called the police." Mystic frantically told, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her gently.

"Even Drago was gone for days looking for you. You never told us _where _you were going or for how _long!_" Star looked disappointed in Fanty as she scolded her.

Fanty, after closing and opening her mouth in shock like a fish, finally mentally smacked herself before apologizing multiple times. She told them of Pitch's desperate drawback, and how she has to go to some witch spirit to help him. Mystic and Star gave her a look, one mixed with slight pity and confusion.

"I can't believe you're risking your life for him. Even I wouldn't do that, at least willingly. I'd be scared." Star said truthfully, and Mystic reluctantly nodded.

"He's a friend, and no one deserves to die alone and uncared for." Fanty said bravely, finally wide awake.

Mystic and Star, after a while, smiled brightly. They pulled in Fanty for a tight hug, and laughed when Fanty muttered about cooties.

"You really are a great friend. Even to someone who's dark, evil, manipulative, and soulless-" Star went on.

"Okay, she gets it." Pitch snapped from the shadows.

Mystic and Star looked like they almost jumped out of their skins. Fanty just rolled her eyes with a smirk and said teasingly, "And sneaky."

"I prefer guileful, or devious." Pitch smirked, strolling over to the girls with his hands behind his back.

Fanty looked at Pitch, and when she saw that tiny smile at the corner of his mouth, she beamed brightly. "You brought them here?"

"Your goodbye wasn't proper enough, at least for my taste." Pitch nonchalantly said, looking away with pride at his success.

"Me neither," Mystic grinned, "Besides, how are you going to help Pitch when we're busy stalling you?"

Fanty rolled her eyes with a grin, "You're not stalling me, guys…but do you really have to leave now?"

Mystic and Star nodded in sync, but then Star noticed Jack leaning on his staff in the corner of the feast hall. He smiled and waved at her, and Star eagerly grinned at Fanty, as if she spotted something worthy in a candy store.

"Before we go, can we get a picture with Jack?" she gave Fanty her best puppy eyes, and Mystic happily joined her.

Fanty smiled and nodded at Jack, who ran a hand through his hair and gave a flirtatious, shy smile at Star, who blushed a bright pink. She whipped out her cupcake iPhone and snapped a picture of the three grinning, Jack playfully sticking out his tongue like the childish boy he was. As Star and Mystic thanked him and put on their thick, winter coats, Jack hid his hands in his pockets and shyly said, "I'm not sure if I'll come up in the photo, though."

Star smiled and showed him the picture, and indeed he was there, sticking his tongue out like a kid. Jack raised a brow and gave a curious smile. Mystic patted his shoulder and said, "The best part about these photos is that only believers will see you. So it's like a privilege to take a photo with a spirit! Finders keepers, at least in Star's sake."

Jack winked at Star, who giggled and looked away. As they disappeared in the portal they came through with a snow globe, Fanty sat herself down at the table, close to the head of the table. "You're a player, Jack," Fanty said, smirking at him, "Which one, Tooth or Star?"

Jack blushed and snapped, "Neither! Girls are gross."

"_Excuse me?!"_

Tooth zoomed over to him, clearly back from her palace. Her feathers were puffed with annoyance, and she was breathing shallowly. It was a sight to see her irritated. Fanty felt something drop at the bottom of her stomach as she watched Tooth get in his face with a shaking finger, and Jack looked honestly terrified.

"I'll have you know that we're much more cleaner than any boy in the entire world. At least we have our priorities straight!"

Fanty awkwardly coughed as Pitch sat next to her, and she leaned over to whisper, "I don't think she's ever heard of Twilight…or any teen romance novel for that matter. None of the characters in those books have their priorities straight."

"Okay," Pitch agreed slowly, "What about real people? That's more important."

"Can't say. It'll be bashing and it isn't my place to point out flaws in real people. Characters? They aren't real, so I can say anything I want." Fanty smirked at Pitch, who chuckled at her joke.

As the Guardians settled down at the table, Tooth still huffy with Jack who looked completely worn out and worried of her opinion, the yetis brought out the giant platters of food. North cheered and clapped his hands, and Bunny grinned at the sight of the warm carrot pancakes one of the yetis was bringing to him. Sandy silently clapped when a dark haired yeti poured him egg nog and placed a delicious plate of sunny side up eggs with toast and two strips of bacon. Bacon, as Fanty learned that breakfast morning, was his absolute favorite part of breakfast.

"It's the only thing he wakes up for," North winked at Fanty, and Sandy even nodded through eager crunches as well.

Pitch helped himself to his own breakfast, consisting of an odd drink of Darjeeling tea, scrambled eggs on toast and oatmeal. Fanty crinkled her nose at the oatmeal, an old memory floating into her mind. Tooth, who was really into her bowl of fruit salad, noticed her stare at Pitch's choice of food. Being the Guardian of Memories, she could see what she was remembering, and almost snorted on her milk. Bunny gave her a concerned look, and Pitch couldn't help but grin over his cup of tea at Tooth's choking laughs. Tooth finally looked at Fanty with an amused smile, and Fanty shyly grinned back at Tooth's ability to read her memories.

"Tell us vhat's going on. I hate being left out of good joke." North said, munching on a deliciously cooked lemon muffin.

Fanty looked down, suddenly embarrassed. "I can't. It's kinda gross, at least in my opinion."

"If it made Tooth laugh it's good enough for the table." Bunny kindly said, gesturing to Tooth who playfully glared at him.

"Fine…" Fanty timidly looked at Pitch, who raised a brow at her strange behavior, "When I was six or seven, my dad made me some of my favorite oatmeal for breakfast. I was really excited, since he always made it taste better with a bit of brown sugar and apple slices. But my dad…has a very bad taste in jokes."

Bunny and Jack grinned simultaneously. "I like where this is going." Jack snickered, and Sandy patted his arm to shut him up.

"He covered the bowl with a smaller one to make it look like it just came out of the microwave. And when I lifted it…there were worms inside."

Bunny almost fell off his chair while hooting in laughter and Jack guffawed so badly he literally snorted his cold orange juice. Tooth began giggling uncontrollably again, and even Pitch snickered at Fanty's blushing face. She looked ticked off as she patted her fork against her chocolate chip waffles, making the syrup splat repeatedly against the flat of the fork.

"It isn't that funny. I never ate oatmeal again."

"Don't worry, you're not missing out," Jack snickered, "Oatmeal is boring, Pitch is boring. Point made."

Fanty grinned at that, and Pitch glared at him before slyly flinging a spoonful of oatmeal at Jack's face so it splat against his forehead. Before the spirit of fun could chuck a peeled orange back at him, North gave a good scolding to both, and the breakfast meal quieted down a bit than it was before. Fanty ate to her heart's content, and was quite sad to leave so suddenly afterwards. North and Tooth fussed over her by giving her extra clothing and utilities like a compass and a snow globe in case of emergencies, but Fanty knew she would be fine. Pitch felt content watching Fanty happily grin to each Guardian in thanks for their care and interest, and even gestured a stiff goodbye as they went through a portal to the thick forest that the spirit of magic dwelled in.

"So what's our plan?" Fanty asked, shedding her bomber jacket as the portal behind them closed up.

"Find Morgana, get an answer how we can save me." Pitch said, taking her jacket from her as the gentleman he was.

"What're we waiting for? Let's go!" Fanty said excitedly, and they started their trek through the bright and airy woods.

The forest had a golden tint to the bright green leaves, and the two could just feel the magic in the air. Bluebirds and mockingbirds fluttered in the air, and occasionally they spotted red squirrels and butterflies of many colors. Flowers were in full bloom, some shimmering with a hint of mystery and beauty that not even Mother Nature could produce. The sun's rays made everything look…beautiful!

Pitch watched Fanty happily walk ahead of him, a slight spring in her step as they strolled down a path that was edged with moss and clovers. A smile lay on her face, tilted up to the sky as she enjoyed the feeling of the warmth of the sun and the sharp blueness of the sky. Her hand lazily grazed against nearby leaves and flowers, enjoying the feel of nature at her fingertips.

Pitch couldn't help but feel a small smile curl his lips. She reminded him of a past memory of his daughter, how she thoroughly enjoyed the woods outside their home and often pretended to have adventures in the glade.

"Having fun?" Pitch chuckled as Fanty twirled before hopping onto a shiny grey stone.

"Loads. Come on, smile at least." Fanty grinned at him, holding out her hand.

Pitch looked away, trying to hold back a grin, but took her suggestion for consideration. He finally smiled at her, and Fanty grinned back, "You are pretty handsome when you smile."

Pitch couldn't help but laugh, his face leaning to the sky at Fanty's remark. The girl continued to smile on and walk backwards, watching him surprisingly look so…happy.

"Just shut up and continue frolicking, Fanty." Pitch said to her with a teasing grin.

Fanty shrugged lightheartedly and continued skipping down the path, and the whole way down, Pitch could just feel a weight lift off his shoulders and relieve some small stress he's carried for centuries. He missed the freedom like this. Fanty urged him to keep up with her, and pretended she was Peter Pan flying through the forest while running fast.

He almost bumped into Fanty when she suddenly stopped, and pointed to a part of the forest that bended like a cave, and the ending of the path was a dead giveaway that they reached their destination. The path separated into little shiny stones, and the nearby rocks softy glittered with quartz, diamonds and rubies that looked so tiny, Fanty couldn't make them out without expecting them closely. A golden cauldron sat patiently to the side, and a cluster of rocks nearby formed a waterfall that continued forever, and a wooden dish floated above magically as if it was its own water basin. From the tree branch and leaf canopy hung decorations and strange objects that must have been relics and magical objects that Morgana must have collected. Colored bottles of many shades hung above too, and cast a light to the green grass below that made it almost look like a clubhouse. To the right was a bed that had a curtain of ivy leaves and satin sheets, and a dark wood wardrobe that reminded Fanty of her favorite childhood book of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Fanty softly smiled and took one step forward, before Pitch grabbed her and pulled her back, securing his arms around her protectively.

"Shh. Don't move and don't scream." He hissed, his eyes wide at the creature that lay behind the thin curtain of more leaves and vines in front of them.

Fanty held her breath, terror rising in her gut when Pitch grabbed her like that. She squinted her eyes to see what was the matter, and saw only a glittering behind the curtain of leaves. It continued on for a long time, and it was until then she realized that hot wind feeling was actually coming from _behind _the curtain.

"Have no fear, for Cambria is a gentle dragon." A soothing voice said from behind the curtain.

The shade drew back to reveal a massive purple and blue dragon, fast asleep and curled against a giant boulder. There also stood a woman, much taller than Fanty but around Pitch's height, with long and flowing hair. In her hair, was pixie dust of blues and greens. Jewels dripped from her headdress, and her gown looked like fabric ivory with hints of silver and ebony. She stepped forward, not looking at Fanty but straight at Pitch. She gracefully extended a hand to Pitch, who took her hand and kissed it, not tearing his eyes from her bright and shining ones. Fanty pursed her lips and looked away, feeling jealous of her fair and white skin and red lips and she had olive toned skin. Not even a single blemish on this woman, the lucky duck.

But then Fanty felt better when she noticed Pitch's lips looked glittery when he released her hand. It's as if this woman was bathed in pixie dust.

"I received word that my mother would be receiving guests." The woman glanced at Fanty with an amused smile.

"You are not Morgana?" Pitch looked her up and down, clearly thinking she was in fact her.

"I am not, for I am her daughter, Megan. Mother had an urgent matter with the Seasonal Spirits and Father Time. It is nothing to worry about."

As Pitch asked her questions such as why she didn't go with her and what her importance was, Fanty got the feeling Megan and Pitch were hitting it off. She started walking around, looking at things and…yeah, she kind of touched stuff to see what they did. She saw this mirror looking thing, and when she peeked into it, only saw another location she wasn't familiar with. She touched the mirror, only to be shocked that it had the texture and appearance of mercury against her fingertips. She grinned and dipped her hand further into the mirror until she heard a scream from the other side, "MOOOM! THERE'S A FLOATING HAND!"

She quickly retracted and glanced at Pitch, who would have shot fireballs at her with his eyes if he was able to. Megan only smiled and said in her usual silky voice, "That is the Mirror of Might. My mother linked it to the place she first became a spirit, for memory sake."

"Well…that's uh, meaningful." Fanty awkwardly complimented, rubbing her hand tenderly.

"So can you help us?" Pitch asked her, turning away from Fanty.

Megan nodded slowly, following her mother's directions. "She said you would be coming, so I am prepared. But the risk of this ritual to gain belief is precarious."

"I can deal with precarious!" Fanty grinned at her, tossing a crystal ball in her hand, "Precarious is my middle name!"

"I…is it really?" Megan looked quite shocked, not getting that it was a figure of speech. Sarcasm wasn't invented when she was born in the Renaissance Age.

"No it isn't. It's Elizabeth." Pitch smirked at Fanty.

"HOW DO YOU-?!" Fanty yelled, and accidentally dropped the crystal ball. It smashed to the ground, causing Cambria, the giant dragon to stir in her sleep and Megan to cringe.

"You idiot! You thoughtless, pubescent witch!" Pitch scolded, stomping over to her and pulling her away from the shelf of magical books and scrolls.

"I didn't mean to," Fanty pouted, "it just kinda jumped out of my hand."

"All is well," Megan waved her hand elegantly, "My mother has twenty more."

Fanty grinned widely, "We could break all of them and then make a giant, big one with the pieces!"

Megan stared at her, thinking Fanty really was an oddball. But then again, she was. Pitch face-palmed, and then held out his other hand as Megan gave him a tiny piece of parchment with the location of where they should perform the ritual.

"She's…quite a keeper." Megan said to Pitch, trying to go for a compliment.

"Ew." Fanty crinkled her nose as Pitch furiously blushed.

"I'll say this lightly. _She's not my type."_ He said acidly, forcing a smile to appear friendly. It wasn't very comforting for Megan, and she took a tiny step back.

"I see. Well, pardon me," Megan turned to Fanty with an apologetic smile, "your little snow globe will only get you about half a mile close to the ancient ruins you are destined to go to, but just follow the fae and they will guide you. You have my word, and so mote it be."

When Megan curtsied, Fanty curtsied as well, feeling a bit odd pulling at the sides of her pants as if she wore a skirt. Megan noticed it, and flashed a white smile. Her eyes shone as she shyly asked, "Um…are they comfortable?"

"What, these?" Fanty looked down at her jeans.

"Yes, those trousers. I have always wanted to try them." Megan timidly admitted.

Fanty looked down at her jeans, and then back at Megan, her lower lip out in thought.

Pitch chuckled as he glanced at Fanty as they left the Glade, still finding her grouching very amusing. Fanty stomped down the path, not finding it funny at all.

"You've had your laugh. Just shut up." Fanty muttered, glaring at him.

Pitch teased her by pinching her cheek as if she were an adorable three year old, "Aww, but you were being considerate. How thoughtful."

"I hate dresses." Fanty complained, looking down at the shiny dress that she wore. She had to wear a silver belt to keep the hem up from tripping on it. It looked odd with her converse and her bomber jacket.

"You're not that bad in them. Let's just get this ritual over with and maybe I'll consider crafting a badass outfit for you out of nightmare sand." Pitch nonchalantly said while observing the snow globe in her hand.

Fanty snickered and said sassily, "I think I'll pass. Your gown is proof enough."

"_It's a robe!"_

* * *

**Yeesh, while you were busy reading that I was reading my old fanfiction, the first one I ever did with Pitch and an OC. I'm glad my writing has improved! I can kinda see it as the chapters progress. Ah well, I won't bother deleting it. It's a learning experience. :)**

**Excuse any of the misspellings, parts of this chapter was written in the dark and around midnight. Leave a review for all time's sake, and have a wonderful summer! :)**


	10. Just Trust

**Hello, all! Yeah, it's been long, about a week in a half. Sorry about that. But now I'm here and with a new chapter, which ISN'T the end! *dun dun DUUUUUN* Nawp, no ending for this chapter, but an epilogue will follow soon. (Because epilogues are fancy and freakin' cool, come on guys).**

**Seriously though, I sometimes feel like J.K. Rowling when I make an epilogue, because her's in the Harry Potter series was the absolute BEST! No one can beat Rowling. (If there's ever a chance she's reading this-which would probably never happen but still-I send her a fist bump and I honor her writing)**

**To iamCAMBRIA, I would like to thank you for your review that was very heartwarming. Though you didn't see a shipping form, I would like to thank you for another idea for a story. Fanfiction or not, I thank you a thousand times!**

**To DeadLuck666, DUUUUDE I'M SO HAPPY TO MEET A HARRY POTTER FAN! Long live Harry Potter! *throws Berties Botts beans as confetti* Ooh! Ooh! Tutshill Tornadoes or Holyhead Harpies? I'm a Holyhead Harpies fan for the big Quidditch games.**

**Anyway, here's one of the last chapters. It comes with an extra order of fluffiness! Just the way you like it. ;)**

* * *

"Where are we?" Fanty looked around, rubbing at her back at the weird, silky feeling of the dress for the third time. She looked around, unsure of the thick forests and the mountains that quickly escalated in the sky.

Pitch gave her a look, and Fanty frowned at him. "What? Your face will freeze like that if-"

"Were you listening to anything Megan said?"

Fanty paused, thinking back to when they were at the Glade. She finally shook her head with a mischievous grin. Pitch groaned, almost stomping his left foot in a mini tantrum and rubbed at his face tiredly. He finally elegantly gestured to the high mountains, extending a nimble, grey finger to where they must be.

"See that crevice right there and the lake below? We need to go there."

"Yeah, but where exactly are we?"

Pitch muttered a profound curse word and rolled his eyes before saying boredly, "Yosemite National Park."

"Da hell?" Fanty looked very confused as she looked around at the escape before her. It was majestic and made her heart soar, but the confusion was slightly overcoming that feeling. "Why Yosemite for the ritual? I mean, it's pretty and all, but we're not here to relieve you of your stress wrinkles."

"-My what?!" Pitch looked terrified, before shaking his head disapprovingly, "I can't believe you were too preoccupied with fooling around with the stuff there. Megan said that Yosemite is a shrine of human foresight, so it's strong with belief and magic. It also contains a balance of power and persistence of life, and even tranquility. Don't you feel it when you look at it?"

Fanty gave it one long look, before taking in a deep breath and letting out a long sigh. The sky was as blue as ever, with the occasional fluffy white cloud drifting by. The mountains were sharp against the dome of the sky, creating the perfect image of power and might. The grass looked so…healthy and alive it almost made tears form at Fanty's brown eyes. A pristine lake was exactly where Pitch said it was, but it was surrounded by a thick expanse of trees with a tiny pasture area, as if it was a place for campers to stay for a while. Fanty even saw a bald eagle soar above the tops of the evergreen, before landing into another area of trees to be unseen once more. Birds twittered, bugs hummed, the wind whispered…

"Beautiful…" Fanty breathed, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of the wind brushing against her face.

Pitch felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips, but he repelled. He rarely saw Fanty relaxed. Actually, no one really has. She was always happy and excited and full of laughter that he often wondered if she had an Off switch on her back or her head. Fanty almost did look like a medieval princess in the wind, but Pitch knew better. He lived by the words of 'Never judge a book by the cover.'

Then again, that saying didn't really work during that nightmare war.

"I have an idea," Fanty said, opening her eyes finally, "What if you teleport us by the shadows? Megan didn't say we couldn't do that. I bet the trees are making a lot of shadows below, so we could travel like that."

Pitch raised his brows in admiration, impressed at the idea. "Sounds logical enough. Doesn't seem too dangerous either. It would save us a lot of time, as well."

"Plus my feet hurt from all that hiking, even if it was half a mile." Fanty complained, lifting up her right foot to see the soles of her shoes had holes in them. She whimpered, "My poor babies."

"Oh, cut it out. You can get another pair when you go home."

Fanty looked at him, about to say something but he distracted her by pulling her gently into a nearby shadow and reappeared near the pasture and the lake, still hidden by the shade of the evergreens. Meadowlarks that were sitting in the grass flew up into the blue sky at the sudden appearance of them. Fanty looked around, feeling as if she were being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and knowing that Pitch was feeling like that too didn't help.

"The fae are watching us. We should hurry this up." Pitch murmured, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Will I be okay after this?" Fanty looked at Pitch, and he could literally smell the fear radiating off her.

He pursed his lips. He just knew she would ask that, and he knew she had a right to be afraid. He's heard of forgotten and lonely spirits that did this ritual to stay alive, and the human they fed off of sometimes died, leaving the spirit to suffer in return. Still, Pitch couldn't believe the Tie was with _her. _But all grudging aside, he really didn't want to see Fanty suffer. He knew her entire background, he knew of the pain she endured in the past, and had enough humanity in his unbeating heart to not want that to happen again.

Fanty could tell by his look that there have been possibilities that some have died. She drew in a shaky breath before walking out into the open, and noticed a ring of small, smooth grey stones encircling the area, wide enough to run back and forth in. The stones were no bigger than Fanty's palm, and had tiny runes etched onto them that glowed a dark color that looked mysterious.

"Promise me this won't kill me." Fanty asked, feeling her eyes prickle as a steady wind picked up as Pitch stepped into the magic ring, not tearing his vision from Fanty's eyes.

They were a good five or six feet away from each other, enough distance to let the magic do its work. Fanty could feel the spiciness and crisp air of magic in the forest, and Pitch was thankful she couldn't see his hands become sweaty with worry.

"I promise." Pitch crossed his heart to really show his true honesty.

"Fine…" Fanty breathed in a shaky breath before standing up taller, as if she were ready to face an army, "Bring it."

"Gladly." Pitch said darkly, his hunger for fear no longer capable of being held back.

Pitch leaned back, his right leg behind him to steady himself, and then threw his hand out, his fingers splayed, right in Fanty's direction. Pitch watcher her fear turn into courage as large sand tendrils, both thin like string and thick like rope, curl and waver in the wind towards her, like fast moving snakes. Fanty was reminded of the time she witnessed someone at a zoo get bitten by a cobra, and the sand tendrils formed into cobras, hissing with their forked tongues flickering in the now chilly and windy air.

Fanty let out a scream of terror as the snakes collided with her body, causing her arms to splay out and her eyes to open wide with pure horror, and before her, like a movie, played every terrifying thing she's ever witnessed, heard and dreamed of.

Pitch saw every fear that haunted her, from infanthood to now. This was the most dangerous part of being the Boogeyman, for an overdose of fear like this could kill even the strongest and healthiest person. He saw angry talons of a furry monster that haunted her dreams when she was five, and witnessed her father fall from the tallest step of the ladder, to seeing her mother get burned by the fireplace and saw Fanty as a little girl being furiously stung by a horde of yellow jackets. He watched Fanty at the age of nine cry in a corner as young boys at her age taunted her and calling her a 'freak'. He saw her shudder in darkness when power outages raged, and images of tornadoes, hurricanes and furious hailstorms collide down, smashing every living and immobile thing to the ground.

But then he saw an image of a guy at least a year older than her, and he felt his rage unfold when he saw her fearful memories of this person. He verbally abused her, toyed her to the point she thought of running away as an escape, and embarrassed her publicly every time she worked. He slapped her, called her a 'drama queen', and Pitch could see the pure evil discharge like an angry, fire hot aura off this man that _abused _her.

_This is why she's afraid of love and trusting others…_Pitch thought sorrowfully. But then he returned to the mission, and said strongly, "NOW FANTY!"

Fanty, who was sobbing into her hands, looked up at Pitch's voice. Pitch thought for a minute she was gone, she was lost forever in her own fears and that her physical form was dead. But then he saw Fanty look to the man who awaited a response from her, breathing heavily through his nostrils like an angry rhino. But then Fanty, for she is a smart girl, realized her chance of change with a smile. Her smile turned even brighter, and with a pull back of her fist, she screamed, "_You don't scare me anymore, bastard!"_

With that, she gave him such a hard punch to the face, the man's nose broke, and her knuckles already were forming bruises from the side of his face. Before the man could cry out in pain, Fanty began to radiate a golden light as she kneed him hard in the groin, making his eyes bug out wide.

Fanty victoriously screamed, and Pitch watched in amazement as the world dissolved around him, back into reality. The storm of nightmares that encircled them like the outside of a tornado whizzed fast, like a furious wind. But Fanty was now hovering in the air, radiating such a yellow glow she looked like she earned her place among the spirits. She rose her hands high up before thrusting her hands straight out at Pitch, and the nightmares as well as the light collided with Pitch's chest, dissolving into his soul to empower him once more. But Pitch did not only soak in the Boogeyman material he is, but also the strength and courage that he once had, the necessity he lived on to survive and hold hope to. He was stronger, and he could just feel the _luscious _feeling of power pulse in his heart and his fingertips to his toes.

Fanty fell to the ground, exhausted. The nightmare storm was gone, the sounds of nature filling the stunned silence, as if the birds did not even notice the dangerous ritual being performed. Pitch stared at his hands in pure awe, he was…alive.

_Is Fanty alive?! _His mind panicked, kicking in an extra dose of fear to make him even stronger and sustain off of.

He sprinted over to Fanty's crumpled body, and yanked her onto his lap. Fanty's eyes were closed, as if she were dead asleep. Pitch frantically felt her forehead, seeing if she was sick, and then her neck to find a pulse. He couldn't find the spot, so he gave up and chose to demand her to wake up. But she didn't. Pitch, silence and thinking the worst, blinked at Fanty's still body.

"Fanty…no," Pitch whispered, feeling a lump form in his throat, "You can't do this…"

He saw something drop from his face and hit her forehead, a droplet of water. Water? Was it raining? But then another dropped on her cheekbone, and Pitch realized his tears when he stubbornly wiped them.

"No, don't cry. Boogeyman don't cry. Stop…" he tried breathing slowly to calm himself, but he couldn't hold it in anymore. All the sadness that held him captive over his immortal life spilled out, and he let out a cry as he hugged Fanty's body close to him as if she were a teddy bear.

"I'm sorry you had to endure that! You are the bravest human I've ever met, and one of my greatest friends. Even if you pissed me off at times you were-!"

He didn't hear Fanty's giggling until he felt her body move from the spasm of laughter she was trying to keep in. "The…most….FANTY!" Pitch yelled, both angry at being tricked and thankful she wasn't dead. He pulled her back by her shoulders and shook her gently, furrowing his brows at her.

Fanty laughed even harder, her eyes shining with pure happiness and laughter. "I can't believe you fell for the most cliché trick in the book! Good God, imagine if we were in a freakin' book or something. This is priceless!"

Fanty continued laughing, and finally Pitch smirked, and began chuckling himself. Fanty giggled as she pulled him in for a hug, just to make him relax since she could see his eyes were red.

"You feeling better?" Fanty asked, looking at him with her best smile.

"Tons. And you?" he asked, helping her up by her hand.

"I don't feel afraid anymore. Of anything." Fanty said honestly, looking at the vast expanse of evergreen and mountains one more.

"You have me to thank for that." Pitch teasingly ruffled her hair, and Fanty swatted at his hand like a kitten would to a mouse toy.

As they walked through the thick forest to find a way home, Fanty had a thought come to her. It was a thought that she put in the back of her brain, a thought she never really cared about until now.

"Hey, Pitch?" she asked out of the silence, tugging on his arm.

"Hmm?" he asked, smiling a closed mouth smile at her.

"My landlord, Mr. Joyce, is wanting to write a book. You want to be in it? Along with the Guardians?" Fanty asked, tilting her head to the side.

Pitch looked stunned at the question, then beamed brightly. Fanty smiled too, and Pitch linked hands with her and said, "I'd love to."

They walked further and further away from the clearing, not knowing that the only thing they needed to keep Pitch alive and Fanty brave was not a ritual and magic.

Just trust.

* * *

**...I forgot what I was going to say. Dang it. Ah well! A little treat will be coming your way sometime this week! :D**

**Or next week, or just whenever I feel like it. It's summer, I'm feelin' like being lazy.**

**Pitch: Lazy enough to use my own nightmare sand to type in this bolded nonsense?**

**Yup. **

**Hope you enjoyed this story, everyone! :D Once again we celebrate the ending of another story-**

**OR DO WE?! *dun dun duuuuuun!***

**Sorry. Had to do that. ;) Have a good day!**


	11. Epilogue: The Messenger

**Haha! We draw to the very end...**

**but not quite! Ho ho ho, we've got a ways to go with this. And I'm sittin' here grinning evilly just THINKIN' of the tricks to pull for not just my lovely readers, but-**

**Loki: Lay one finger on me, and I'll kill you.**

**...How about two? Three? My whole hand? Muahaha, you have no weapons, because Thor confiscated them. *evil cackle***

**Loki: Fine. Then I shall bore you with the history of blacksmithing.**

**NOOOOOO! ANYTHING BUT THAT!**

**Til next time, everyone! :D Thank you so much for reading this, and thank you a thousand times more for leaving a review. It makes my day. I'll be posting the sequel on the Saturday of my first week of school. Til then!**

* * *

Weeks passed after this adventure, and Fanty nor her friends has seen Pitch since. They assumed he was busy with the whole nightmare, take-over-the-world thing once more, so they left it at that. Fanty told Jamie and Sophie Bennett of all the adventures she had with Pitch, and they roared with laughter. Never before have had they known that Fanty would easily bring Pitch to his knees in the name of humor, but also bring back the courage he lost many centuries ago. Even if they were kids, they were proud of her, and more than happy they no longer felt threatened by the presence of the Boogeyman.

Still, Fanty missed him. He was a good friend, and Fanty didn't like losing contact with people that much.

On one Saturday morning, Fanty went out onto the deck of her apartment to enjoy the crisp fall air with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate, keen on reading until dinnertime. She placed the thick book and mug on the table, and was just about to sit down until she heard a startling noise.

"_Caw!"_

Fanty jumped, "The hell!?" she jerked her head to the right, and saw a rather big crow sitting on the flower pot that sat on the railing, blinking and cocking its head side to side at this human it found.

Fanty narrowed her eyes. She had no problem with birds, and though she used to be scared of crows when she was little, she no longer was. She just thought them a nuisance when they interrupted her reading session.

"Great, are you looking to steal lunch food like your brothers and sisters?" Fanty asked sourly, folding her arms.

The bird did not make a sound, but hopped off the flower pot and onto the railing, looking at her, the book, the door, and the sky.

"I don't have any food, you ugly cretin."

"Have at thee!" a voice shouted.

Fanty screamed as the crow collided with her face, trying to climb his way up to the top of her noggin. She also screamed at the fact that this crow _talked!_

"HOLY CRAP! HOLY CRAP I'M SO SORRY!" Fanty yelled, scared to move.

"Thou should be, you pesky mortal! No crow is ugly!" the crow shouted at her, and poked her with his beak on the top of her head.

"Ow! Okay, okay, point taken!" Fanty snapped, finally plucking the crow off her head and placing him onto the table.

Fanty stared at it, completely horrified. _It talks it talks it talks oh my god, an animal is talking…_

"Pray tell, you thought no animal knew the words of a human?"

_Did this crow just get snarky with me?_

"Kinda…what do you want?" Fanty asked, her voice an octave higher from being so badly startled.

"I am a messenger, and I have come to tell you that a great danger will befall you that you must control." The crow pointed at her with a wing.

Fanty couldn't help but scoff, "I already did that, with-!"

"The Boogeyman, I understand. My master has noticed your success with a being so evil and horrid, and has chosen you to renew the son he once had." The crow sounded morose at the thought of it, but stayed under control.

"…Wait, what?" Fanty said, utterly confused.

The crow, fiercely ticked off that she didn't get it, cawed angrily at her and took to the air, fluttering his wings furiously. He was just about to head south, down the street to avoid the harsh wind when he turned around and said, "This is not over, dealing with a being so formidable and grotesque! The Boogeyman will be nothing but a mere puppy compared to the monster that will happen into your home! Beware!"

With that, the crow was gone, leaving Fanty to wonder just what the heck he meant. The crow apparently attracted more attention than he intended, and Angel came onto the deck, holding her own book in her hands.

"Hey, Fanty. What was all the hullabaloo with the crow?" she asked.

Fanty thought for a second, smiled, and then started laughing. Angel rolled her eyes and muttered, "Great. She's gone insane. She's now talking to animals."

"Angel," Fanty said through giggles, "Guess what?"

"What?" she smirked, setting her book down next to Emma's.

Emma grinned proudly and folded her arms.

"We're going to have another visitor."

* * *

**Now that we deserved our vacation, who wants some tea and cupcakes? Star gave me enough to last a whole year.**

**Pitch: I'll take that black licorice before the trickster does.**

**Loki: Just tea. Nothing else...*mumbles* Thanks.**

**Aah! I love chocolate sprinkle cupcakes and tea. I almost love it as much as y-uh...did I forget to turn off the Write-My-Voice again?**

**Loki: Ha!**

**Pitch: Now that I'm not surprised.**

**Loki: Wait, if it's on, it records our voices, too?**

**Yes, it does. Why?**

**Loki: FANTY SLEEPS WITH A PITCH BLACK BODY PILLOW!**

**WHAT?! NO I DON'T!**

**Pitch: You liar! I saw it!**

**You sneaky son of a- *click!***

**EL FIN**


	12. Hey Followers!

**Hello everyone! Yeah, it's been a while. Mostly because these stories are finished. I feel like it's my duty *ahem* I mean, my responsibility to tell you that my sequel to Misadventures of Fanty and Pitch Black, is out now! :D So come on and read it! Enjoy, laugh, cry, smile, have a heart to heart with your favorite Boogeyman and God of Mischief!**

**So for those followers and favorited people that are scratchin' their noggins and going, "Where is the rest of her work?" It is aqui! :D**

**Also, to those who enjoyed Listen to Your Heart and Listen to Your Mind, I... *shudder* upon strong demand, made a lemon for that. If you're into that sorta stuff, just check out my stories. It's there...sadly. Yeesh, that was the most embarrassing thing I've ever written. Anyway!**

**Thank you all for reading this specific story and leaving a bountiful of reviews. It means the world for me. :) Ciao!**


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